


Of Time And Patience

by dstridesandkarkles



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Bars, Business Shit, Car Accidents, Confessions, Cuddling, Eight-ball Pool, F/F, F/M, Fluff, God Tier Magic, Guilty Conscience, Heart Magic, Internal Struggle, Life Magic, Loss of Control, M/M, Masturbation, Near Death, Parade of Trolls, Pranks, Sad Jade, Shenanigans, Sleeping Striders, Smuppets, Smut, Soul Reading, Underage Drinking, breakdowns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-02-04 00:31:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1760787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dstridesandkarkles/pseuds/dstridesandkarkles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now with an actual playlist: <a href="https://8tracks.com/dstridesandkarkles/of-time-and-patience">Clicky click</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Say Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dave Strider [Knight of Time God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera](https://youtu.be/-2U0Ivkn2Ds)

**== >Dave: Get distracted.**

You were kind of already on that. The moment you found yourself stuck in the situation you were in. In fact, you were so incredibly distracted that you hadn't even noticed the smuppet that had hit you in the back of the head. You were hanging out with John, predictably, as well as Rose and Jade. You went to get something from Dirk. You didn't knock, you kidding, Striders never knocked. They owned the fucking place, they did what they wanted. Though right about now, you were wishing you had knocked. Okay, that was a lie, probably the biggest lie that would ever cross your sick and demented mind. Then again was it really all that sick and demented compared to walking in on Dirk? Dirk, who was busy with occupying himself, masturbating and saying your name, pleading for you? Dirk Strider, your brother, your older brother, was thinking about you as he beat it.

Your cheeks were flushed, probably the brightest red they had ever been in your life. It wasn't a secret that Dirk was gay. Come on, he dated fucking English for heaven's sake. He was never interested in Rose, Roxy, Jane, or Jade. You would see the looks he gave John, so you always thought he was into your best bro. Which you guess was okay? It was weird adjusting to the new way things were since Sburb. Things were completely different. Bro was dead, but now Dirk was here. You always had a strange attraction to your Bro, and you weren't exactly hiding the fact that you were into guys just as much as chicks. Fuck, you told Rose you loved John at one point. She probably thought you were just being ironic, but at the time? No, you were serious. Not so much anymore.

Finally, the smuppet was picked back up, and it was being shoved in your face. "ACK! What the hell?!" John was laughing, well until he finally realized why you were being so quiet. Holy fuck, this was bad. Dirk was looking at you, the most horrified look in his eyes. John had already scrambled out, but for some reason you couldn't pull yourself away.

**== >Dave: Say something!**

You were getting to it. You think. You were lucky your shades are on, because you were not wanting to explain yourself staring at your brother slash ecto-dad's dick. Like really, no big deal, it's not like you haven't seen a dick before, you've seen a ton. "So... uh... this is awkward..." You are so smooth cool kid. You should have just left with John. If the world had known you would be so smooth it would have made you leave. The world was shaking it's metaphorical head at you.

"Just... hnng... get out..." Dude, holy shit, was he seriously still jerking it, knowing you are right there now? Shit, he was. And you just kept on fucking staring. You're a creep, this wasn't ironic or cool at all, this was one hundred percent grade a creep here. There was no way at all you were ever going anywhere but Hell. Nope. Not for the shit you pull.

Rubbing the back of your head for a minute, you let out a sigh. You were just about to say something when, oh fuck. "Dave! Come on, Rose and Jade are wanting to hang out more." Like that, you were being pulled away. Damn you, Egbert. If you weren't so fucking... ugh. He was lucky he was your best bro or you would have decked him by now.

When you made it to your room on the other side of the apartment, you were greeted with three pairs of inquiring eyes. Aw hell no. Rose doing that was bad enough, but all three of them. Fuck this shit, you are ollying out. Or you would if Egbert wasn't being an insufferable prick and making sure you couldn't leave. You will rue the day, John, just wait and see. You were glaring at him from under your shades, but predictably, no one could tell. Which was perfectly fine, you would keep up the appearance of stoicism while still glaring to your heart's content.

"What was that, John?" A question you were sure you would in time regret having asked.

"Dude, he was masturbating and you didn't follow after me to leave!" Oh shit, he said it in front of them. This was going to end very very badly for you.

Rose's brow was raised due to curiosity. Jade, oh Jade was just staring at you wide eyed with that goofy look on her face that tended to make your heart melt. It was no wonder you ended up falling for her, and eventually dating her. Sadly, things didn't work out, everything with the Mayor complicated that and there was no real recovery from it. Eventually you both got to the point where it was mutually decided that you would be better off as just friends. But fuck if the fact that she couldn't turn off the ears and tail from her dog tier didn't make her look so freaking cute. Yeah, you would still tap that even with the ears and tail. As non-ironically as possible.

And you got side tracked looking at Jade and thinking back on fond memories. You haven't heard a word that anyone has said to you. Rose's arms are crossed, John is staring in his stupid way. God you hated that you still had lingering thoughts about John and Jade. Things tended to get awkward when you were supposed to pay attention and just went off on your own tangent.

"Dave Strider! Are you even paying attention?"

"No." At least you were honest?

"Well you should, there is a serious issue here." This got your attention. Anything that could possibly result in you getting to play hero again was worth your attention. You haven't done anything exciting since Sburb ended. Hell, you guys haven't even really seen the trolls in a while. You knew they were around, you just didn't talk much. Well, except you and Karkles, you guys were bros, bros talk.

"Fine, sup?"

"You staring at Dirk!"

"Exactly, anyone else would have left when they saw their brother masturbating. You didn't."

"I grew up with Bro raising me. That's kind of a norm for me. So if this is the whole big serious issue, I would like to olly out of the conversation now." That was aggravating.

"You ever think that's not an actual norm? And not one for Dirk, remember, he grew up alone."

And with that, you lost your stoic appearance for a moment. She was right, he did. He didn't know about the weird ass shit you grew up with. You quickly regained your composure. "Then explain to me why he was moaning my name?" OH SHIT! You didn't really just say that out loud did you? Fuck, from the looks on their faces... you did. God, you are going to die in some manner, shape, or form tonight.

You were dying inside, the looks you were getting, you didn't know what to think of them. Now you knew not many people liked to even entertain the thought of two men having sex, let alone brothers. You were leaning on the doorjamb, trying your damnedest to not break your stone cold stoic look again. Why should you seemed phased? Just another person who wanted in your pants, so what if it was your brother. You didn't care. It's not like they would need to know if you did anything about it anyway.

Rose was the first to regain her composure, as always. "Dave, you do know that even if he was, that's not a socially acceptable thing, right?"

"When have you known anything about my life to actually fall under socially acceptable?" You were blunt, was anything else to be expected of you? Not really.

"I thought Dirk was into John?" Damnit Jade, John didn't know about Dirk staring! He was almost as, if not equally, oblivious as Jake was.

John had turned red at her words. "Why would he be into me? I'm not into guys."

"Keep thinking that, Egbert. I see the looks you give certain friends." You smirk. By certain friends, you meant you obviously. That's why your interest in him wasn't completely gone.

**== >Dave: Talk to Dirk.**

You will, hold your horses. Jegus, what is with people these days, come on. You still had to deal with your friends, okay you didn't _have_ to deal with them. But you did, because they were important to you. Not that you really would ever admit that out loud. Nor did they ever actually expect you to. You were Dave Strider, and through everything, you were still too cool for emotions. You only showed emotions three times, when Bro died, when Jade came back from the dead, and when you met Dirk.

You were slowly inching your way to the door for the past hour though, you were pretty sure they had noticed, but let it go. It wasn't until there was a click heard that someone finally decided to acknowledge your attempts at escape.

"Dave, where are you going?" Jade said, and unfortunately for you she did the cutest thing ever, letting her ears droop down just enough to try to convey she was worried, not upset. She was always upset when you tried to leave the room. She was the cutest, and you had wished things between you guys had worked when she did those cute things she knew you like. Maybe one day, one day you will be the kind of person she deserves, but right now, you knew you weren't. Damn, how you wished you were good enough for her though, she, of all people, deserved to be happy. You didn't but if you could make her happy, that would have been what mattered.

"I need to go talk to Dirk, I never did get what we wanted." You played it cool, because you were a Strider and that was what you do best. Leaning back on the barely opened door, you muttered a barely audible curse when it clicked closed again. Jade's ears perked up quickly at the sound and you had to fight a grin. Fuck, why was she able to have this kind of an affect on you. Well damn, Karkat and John had this affect on you in their own ways too. You were just royally screwed when it came to the romance department. You had come to accept that long ago, when you managed to lose both Terezi and Jade. It was a wonder that you even fucking tried anymore these days, even after accepting this stupidly obvious fact.

"Do you really think that is a smart idea considering earlier?" Ugh, seriously John. Only he would know how to think of the most awkward thing as the first thing. Sometimes you wondered about your friendship with him, this was one of those times. You took a quick glance over to Rose, and really you should have expected that you would regret it.

"I have to apologize some time, don't I? Or is that something I'm forbidden from now?" You were subtly growling as you spoke. Clearly only Jade had noticed it, her ears drooping again in response. You almost felt bad. Almost. You were getting fucking frustrated with the bullshit that was your friends right now. All because, oh shit, Dirk was masturbating AN HOUR AGO. That didn't mean your older brother was still at it, and even if he was, you would find a way to pull yourself back this time.

Before anyone could even say anything, you were already opening the door and stepping out. You weren't dealing with this today, nope. You were simply going to get the gaming system _they_ all wanted, apologize to Dirk and get the Hell out. Nothing too difficult about that, so you really had no idea what they were so worried about. Did they really think that you were someone who let things like desires really get to you? Ha, they were sorely mistaken then. What amigos they were if they underestimated you so much.

You were only walking to the other side of the apartment, but considering everything and how much you were in your head, it felt like it was taking so much longer than it should have. In reality it was a minute and you were at his door, in your mind, it had been fifteen. God you needed to stop doing that shit. You were the knight of god damn time and you lost, not really lost, track of it more than you cared to admit. Raising your hand, you started to force it towards the door to knock. Though, something you should have but didn't expect happens. The door opened and your fist ended up clashing with Dirk's face, thankfully sans shades. You knew if you broke those babies, he would kill you.

"Oh shit!"

"What the fuck, Dave?!" He was holding his face slightly, he was fine, you both knew that. You were going to knock on a door, not punch a bitch out. He was glaring at you regardless.

"I had come to apologize for earlier..." You said, not looking at him and rubbing the back of your neck. You weren't entirely sure which part you were apologizing for though. You wouldn't have minded getting to be more than just what he thought of. You would have loved to be the reason he was saying your name. Fuck you would have loved to make him scream it. And oh shit. There was a party going on downstairs now. Why did you have to do that to yourself.

It was painfully obvious that Dirk wasn't completely oblivious, though he kept himself more composed than you managed. You had a slight blush to your cheeks, he was just staring at you, expectantly."Okay?"

"I didn't mean to walk in on you." Well that wasn't exactly true.

"Why'd you stay?" Did... did he know you were there the whole time?

"At first I didn't realize what you we---" And like that, you were cut off. Your eyes were wide under your shades as you looked at Dirk, who now had you pinned to the door. And somehow it was the inside of his room, with the door closed? Woah, what did you just fucking miss. You heard the clicking of the door locking, and your body stiffened as your eyes continued staring at your brother.

"You suck at lying lil man." And fuuuuuuck, you melt. He sounded so much like Bro there, though Bro never pinned you to the door, never was this intimately in your personal space. You were so lost in your thoughts that you were only pulled back by Dirk's next action. His lips pressed against yours and you were done for. You fought for all of zero point five seconds before you found your fingers gripping onto his biceps. Your eyes were falling shut and you were kissing him back. He tasted so sweet, something you had never imagined you would taste from him. You felt the quick movement of his taking your shades and tossing them, having no idea where they landed. Not that you cared as you felt his fingers teasing at the skin just under the hem of your shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may be varying the point of view as I feel the need, but I think most of the story will be in DAVE STRIDER'S POV!
> 
> Chapters are titled by songs that originally inspired them, regardless of the turn the chapters take, so links to songs will be included.


	2. Looking Hot, Dangerous!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dirk Strider [Prince of Heart God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Looking Hot, Dangerous - Blood on the Dance Floor](https://youtu.be/6fX6xTr2PQo)

**== >Dirk: Seduce Dave.**

You were already way ahead of that train of thought. As your felt your little brother relaxing into your touches, you felt all the more empowered to keep going. You were pretty sure that it would be much harder than this. Though you had to admit, you couldn't help yourself when you saw him start to get a boner. The fact that you hadn't even done anything other than talk and he had a boner, you were a little more than curious about what had made that happen. You were determined to ask, when you were sure that he would actually answer without being his normal smartass self. Sometimes the Strider traits were a curse.

You could hear the little hums as you played with the skin just under his shirt, you were pretty sure that neither of you thought that this would be a thing to happen. Though you started having a different feeling when you heard him come in your room earlier. You never heard him leave, not until Egderp pulled him out. You were actually enjoying having him there, watching you masturbate, listening to you as you moaned his name pleadingly. You would be lying if you were to say that you hadn't wished he had helped. God, you didn't even know how long you had been wanting to feel his hot throbbing dick inside you. You just knew that now, now you were more than likely to finally get that wish. Provided everything went how you wanted.

You could feel Dave's hands gripping your biceps all the more tightly, a smirk played across your lips as you continued kissing Dave, your lips moving to kiss the edge of his mouth. Trailing, you moved from his lips to his cheek, along his jawline and hesitated for a moment at his neck. It was only when he moved enough that he was now baring his neck to you, the slightest of whimpers leaving him from the absence of your lips that you realized he really did want this. That he wasn't just letting you do as you pleased and would stop you any moment. He wanted you kissing him, taunting him. Was he just as into you as you were into him? Could this really be a thing that was happening right now? Were you actually going to get something you wanted for once in your God forsaken life? You were lost in the disbelief, though quickly pulled back by another whimper and the sound of his voice.

"D... Dirk... w... what's wrong?" His voice was strained, he was trying so damn hard to not sound needy. It really hit you then, hearing his voice, that he was into this, that he wanted you. And you were completely fucking stunned. Looking to the writhing mess that was your brother, you couldn't quite tell if you were dreaming or if this was for real. You were kind of hoping for the latter. Though if you were dreaming, Heaven forbid that you should ever wake up. You were pretty sure it would become a reality if you woke up. You spent countless nights dreaming of your brother and all the things he would do to you given the chance.

Oh hey look at that, you had a guy in your arms, your brother, and he seemed to be getting frustrated. Shit. That meant he knew you were in your head, fuck you were too obvious this time. "Nothing. At least I don't think so. Unless I'm dreaming, then everything is wrong." And wow did your voice sound unexpectedly breathy to you. He wasn't even doing anything to you yet, and here you were. Wow. The effect that Dave had on you was far greater than you had imagined. Pressing your lips to his neck, feeling his hands slide down your arms and then your sides, you were done in. You wanted him, his friends weren't getting him back. Okay actually.

"You need to send the gang home. Make up some bullshit, and do your damnedest to hide this." You were speaking into his neck, groping him and lightly massaging his length through his pants. The moans that slipped through his lips brought a smile to your lips, and you knew you got him. Pulling back, he let out a low whine before fumbling with the lock and heading towards his room.

**== >Dirk: Wait for Dave**

You were. As soon as Dave left the room, you headed to your bed and sat down. You were running your fingers through your hair right now, wondering if everyone will leave. You were wondering how well Dave was hiding his little friend. You were wondering how the fuck long it would take before you were being ravaged by Dave. Feeling his hands all over you, his lips on yours, his body clinging to yours. Fuck, you just really wanted this, and from the way he was acting, he did too. Your hands were moving to pull your shirt off and as soon as it was removed, you were fell back on the bed, it landed on his shades. Blinking at the sound of the shirt moving his shades, you sat back up and picked them up, looking in the direction of his room. He never forgot his shades, no matter what. They were actually in your hands right now, that really happened. You really tried, and succeeded in seducing your brother.

Wait, shit! No one but you has seen his eyes! That was going to cause a problem. Fuck your life. You were going to be waiting a while, clearly. Leaning back on the bed, you sighed out, your eyes moving to the ceiling. His shades were still in hand, so you reached over and placed them with yours on the nightstand. Letting your eyes fall shut, you smiled a little, you didn't smile often, only when you were alone. Smiling at all wasn't your thing, you did it with Jake, but it became almost impossible since him too. He never seemed to realize it, and always asked why you didn't smile anymore. You didn't have the heart to tell him that it hurt too much to. Especially smiling around him.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours, you heard a knock on the door. Not Dave. Striders don't knock. You contemplated ignoring it, but found yourself getting up anyway. It wasn't a far walk from the bed to the door, not that it was an issue. You just didn't want to deal with Dave's friends, sometimes they annoyed you. Even Rose, though she was the most bearable of them. Opening the door, you peeked out and who was it other than, well that was to be expected. Rose.

"Yes, Rose?"

"Can we talk?"

Moving to the side to let her in, you have long since learned that she was like Roxy in that when she said 'can we talk' that meant you had no choice. "Sure." As she stepped in, you closed the door and headed back to the bed. Sitting down, you looked to her, your eyes were questioning. You really hoped this wouldn't take long. You never knew with her though, and that was what tended to annoy you the most about her. "Sup?"

Before speaking, she moved to take her normal seat for these talks, your computer chair. She seemed to be contemplating something. She clearly knew what she wanted to talk about, she always did. She just wasn't sure how she wanted to address it. "It's about Dave." You waited, you knew that she would keep going. Laying back on the bed, you kept watching her, you knew that this may not end well. "It seems that he wants us to leave, which would be fine, if not for the fact that he didn't before he came to see you." There it was. She was wanting an explanation. Thankfully, you knew how to lie to her and not get caught. It was a trained skill when it came to her, especially when your shades were off, which was almost never.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling well. I figured y'all would be better off leaving than having me barge in later and forcing you out. So I asked him to politely ask you to leave." And ha, your southern accent managed to slip out. Maybe that would convince her a bit, since the Striders hid their accent all the time. You could hear the sigh from her, even across the room, she wasn't trying to hide it.

"Look, if you are so worried, we will be fine."

"I would just really appreciate it if you guys went home. I'm sure Dave will still chat you guys up on pesterchum. It's no big deal, you four are almost never not talking." The same could be said about you with Jane, Jake, and Roxy. She knew that. "We Striders love talking to our friends, you don't have to be here all the time you know." There might have been a mild irritation in your voice as you said that last part. You were kind of jealous that Dave was always with those three. However, you could understand it too.

"Alright, I'll gather up John and Jade, we'll leave. Just make sure Dave talks to us at some point, alright?" Her hands were raised in a defensive manner and you almost felt bad. Almost. You just really wanted to have your time with Dave. You didn't know where it would go, even though it was getting pretty hot before. But, that wasn't all you were expecting from the night.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." You could tell from her tone that she knew you were lying. Which was surprising, considering everything.

"Don't hurt him, Dirk. You know that he doesn't let people in often." With that, she turned and walked out the door, leaving you there stunned and blinking after her. Wait a minute. How the hell did she? Did she? She did. She implied a relationship was going to happen, and she didn't say anything more than 'don't hurt him'? Was she feeling okay? You shook your head for a moment, hearing the sounds of footsteps heading out the door. The sound of Dave saying goodbye, and the sound of footsteps heading towards your room. Your door busts open, and Dave looking at you, his red eyes a little red around the edges.

Walking over to him, you can tell that he ended up crying, and you can't help but to worry. Mainly because fuck, it wasn't like a Strider to cry. You were raised to be tougher than that, especially because crying wasn't cool. Pulling him in closer, you held him into you, rubbing his back and whispering soothing little things you knew always helped him. "Dirk...?"

"What's up, lil man?" You were kind of worried about what he would say. He didn't usually want to just talk, not after his friends left. He wanted to be alone, and you never knew why. You took it in stride.

"You wouldn't use me... would you?"

You were caught by surprise by the question. "No. Why would you even ask that?"

"It's not important." And he looked away from you.

"Clearly it is."

He refused to look at you. Which to be completely honest was starting to piss you off. Though just as you were about to say something, you were stopped in your track.

**== >Dirk: Be surprised.**

Surprised you were. You were suddenly pulled into a kiss, deep and full of more than lust. There was love, want, need, and it seemed like he was searching for something in that kiss. All you managed to do, though, was close your eyes and kiss him back. You brought him closer to you, kissing him with everything you read from him. Minus the searching. You were afraid of what you would find. It was a good solid three minutes before your little brother finally pulled away from you. He had fear in his eyes, but you could see he also had something he felt he needed to say.

"I love you, Dirk."

"I love you, too, Dave." You said, before it hit you. He meant that as more than just family. You always thought it was only you that felt that way.

"Then why..."

You didn't need him to finish the question. You knew it was coming the moment you realized what he had meant. "Because... even I know it's not socially accepted... whatever happens between us. I didn't want to subject you to that, so I tried to ignore it."

"But you couldn't." That was a statement.

"You weren't supposed to find out..." Now you were the one who was looking off.

You could feel the pain in Dave, you didn't miss how his eyes fell to the ground. "I didn't think you liked me, considering everything." Letting out a sigh, you looked at him and rested a hand on his cheek. You didn't want to hurt him, you didn't want anyone to, but definitely not you. He was so much more to you than your little brother, he had developed into being your entire world.

"Dirk..." The fact that he didn't know what to say was something you didn't expect. Then again, it wasn't the only surprise of the day so really you shouldn't be too concerned about it. Letting your forehead rest on his, you smiled a little. Just enough that he knew that you would both be okay. Which resulted in him smiling back.

Intertwining your fingers with his, you guided him towards the bed. Lowering yourself onto the bed, you smirked as he follows suit, laying next to you. You pulled him closer, his head moving to rest on your chest. You let your eyes close and let out a sigh. This was nice, not what you had expected from the night, but it would do.


	3. Face Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dave Strider [Knight of Time God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus](https://youtu.be/6Ux6SlOE9Qk)

**== >Dave: Wake up.**

You have been up for at least an hour, or at least you appeared to have been. You still haven't decided if you were actually awake as you moved to bury yourself further into the warmth next to you. You were trying to decide if you were still asleep and therefore dreaming of if you were actually awake and burying yourself into Dirk's side. You were really hoping you were actually awake, though the more you thought about it the less likely it started to seem to you. Really, it was difficult to believe you were awake when Dirk was still wearing all his clothes. He never slept in his clothes, except his boxers. You were the same way. Yet here you both were, laying in his bed both wearing your jeans and you in a wife beater, Dirk still shirtless. It was hot, okay? Striders never wore shorts though. You were trying to remember how you managed to fall asleep without stripping. You guess you were just that comfortable?

Reluctantly, you pulled yourself up, just enough to strip off your shirt and toss it on the floor. Letting out a soft yawn, you moved to lay back down, your head resting comfortably back on Dirk's chest. It was weird that you were awake before him, then again, he almost never slept. Pulling out your iPhone, you checked the time, and man did your eyes widen. Really, you knew the time, you never really lost track of time, but you were ignoring your stupid god tier power. Anyway, it was freaking two in the morning, you had literally only slept for three hours. Okay, three hours was normal for you, but the fact that while clinging to Dirk, you weren't still asleep was astonishing to you. He was quite comfortable if you were to be completely honest with yourself. Normally, you went to bed a lot later, too. Usually, you were too busy distracting yourself by working on your ill beats or teasing John and Karkat.

Letting out a soft sigh, soon after a groan seemed to escape your lips. Why? Because Dirk started stirring and then you would likely be kicked out of his room. Well, actually, considering what you remembered from before you fell asleep, that probably wouldn't be the case. You weren't getting your hopes up too high though. You felt Dirk's hand brush against your back and you let out a soft sigh.

"You're actually still here, lil man?" He sounded like he was in complete shock. Well, the shock was there through his currently thick accent and his just waking up voice. You couldn't help but to let out a light chuckle.

"Why wouldn't I be, Dirk?" He could probably hear the hints of a smile in your voice. Turning over enough so that you were propped up on your elbows, you watched him for a moment. Blinking when all he did was rest his hand on your cheek, you couldn't help the sigh as you leaned into the touch. It was nice, though at the same time, you were still afraid. Everything your friends said last night was right, but something John said really struck home with you. You were used to people not actually caring about you when you were in relationships with them. The obvious exception being Jade of course. No matter how much you denied it, your mind always came back to the simple matter of, what if Dirk is going to use you.

You avoid shaking your head, not wanting him to ask. You were perfectly content with him not knowing what you were thinking about at the moment. Maybe one day, though that seemed to be extremely unlikely. Your mind kept drifting away, even as you felt the sensation of Dirk stroking your cheek with his thumb, that slight smile on his lips. Drifting until it got to the one thing you never wanted to think about happening in one of your relationships, if that was even what this was, or would be? What if you guys had to hide your relationship, because yeah, you were brothers, this wasn't really something people liked. It wasn't unheard of here in Texas, but you know.

"Dave, are you going to answer me?" Dirk had a worried expression on his face. Oh that wasn't good. You picked a terrible time to be spacing out while with him.

"I'm sorry... I zoned out, what was the question?" Hearing the sigh from him, you could tell it was a mix of frustration and relief. How the actual fuck did he manage to pull that one off? Whatever, you needed to be paying attention this time, so you didn't linger on the thought for too long.

"I asked if you really meant what you said last night."

"The 'I love you'?"

You saw him nod. This caused your eyes to roll before you managed to take a deep breath. "You know how hard it is for me to express myself, do you really think I would say that if I didn't mean it?" Okay, even you had to admit that the level of frustration in that answer was far too evident for your liking. However at the moment you really didn't care seeing as it happened to be him questioning your feelings. At least that was how it felt with that question.

His lips pursed as he thought about your response, his hand was still on your cheek, not moving however. He was not even stroking your cheek with his thumb anymore. Which was, at the moment, fine with you, considering how upset you were feeling. He let out a sigh, his eyes moved to look up at the ceiling. This only seemed to further irritate you, though you bit your tongue since you wanted to know what he had to say. It was getting harder and harder to do though. He was taking too long to answer and you didn't want to find out he was going to say what you were thinking.

**== >Dave: Lose your patience.**

Pulling back from Dirk, you were slightly growling from how annoyed you were getting. You didn't even care that he was looking at you with the most surprised expression as his hand went limp and fell to the bed. You kept pulling yourself further and further back. You couldn't do this, not if it was going to take him so long to answer a simple question. Tears were threatening to make a presence, though you fought them off. Refusing to let him see how much this was bugging you, you ended up falling off the bed from lack of paying attention. You were more concerned with distancing yourself from him. Ignoring the gasp you heard from him, you moved to sit up like nothing had happened.

Dirk started scrambling over to you, you could see the worry in his face but you didn't care. You're hurt, not physically, but emotionally. "Dave! What the hell? Why did you back away from me?" He was frowning, there was visible pain in his face. You could feel yourself softening up, as much as you didn't want to. He looked like he knew he did something wrong. He just didn't know what. Which honestly pissed you off, but that helpless expression wasn't making it easy to stay angry.

"Is my question really so difficult that you need to take forever to answer it? I thought it was a pretty fucking simple question. Especially since you know me better than my friends."

"How can I know you better than your friends when for the first eighteen years of my life, I didn't even know you existed? And the three years since we met? You spend most of the time with your friends or locked up in your room." He looked away, and you could see even more pain in his face, as much of it as you could see. You instantly felt bad.

Climbing back on the bed, you frowned, resting on your hands and knees in front of him. "Well, what do you think the answer to my question is, then? If you don't know, you surely have a thought?"

"Well... I think the answer is that you wouldn't say it unless you meant it, because you _seem_ to be a lot like me."

You rolled your eyes before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. "Remember who raised me." You laughed and smiled at him.

"Not me." You laughed even more when he rolled his eyes at you.

**== >Dave: Bond with your brother.**

Crawling back over to plop yourself down next to Dirk, you let out a huff. "Deny it all you want, but in a sense, you did." You said as you rested your head on his shoulder and let your eyes fall shut. For some reason that you knew you would never be able to explain or even fully comprehend, you were feeling extremely relaxed here in this moment with your brother. You never felt this way with the version of him that raised you for thirteen years. If anything his obsession with Cal and his smuppets deterred you from him. Dirk, though, while he was still into Cal, wasn't completely obsessive over his robots since starting his sburb session, as you have learned. And Cal was the only puppet this version of him had.

You felt the movement from Dirk shaking his head at you before you felt his hand taking yours. You were both awkward with your displays of affection with others. That may have helped with being able to display it with each other, having that in common? Fuck if you knew, or even cared. This felt nice, relaxing. You were ready to fall right back asleep in his arms. Your eyes snap open as you feel yourself falling back on the bed, sans Dirk. What? Blinking up before your head turned to look at him, you saw the slight smirk on his lips. "Come on, Dave. You can't expect me to think you aren't tired. All you do is work, you can have at least one good night of sleep."

Not what you were expecting but okay? Reaching out one of your hands, you gripped onto his arm and attempted to pull him back into your arms. If he was going to make you go back to sleep then he could deal with the consequences, those being that he would be forced to cuddle with you. Both of you were too cool to admit it, but you both had a weakness for cuddling. For a little while you were cuddled out, because practically all you did was cuddle with Jade, but god damn if she wasn't adorable as fuck!

Dirk, knowing your intentions, easily fell back into the space next to you on the bed. The space which was quickly completely closed between you by you scooting to get as close as possible to him. Feeling him wrap his arm around you, you couldn't help but to smile slightly into his shoulder. Letting yourself get lost in the moment, you curled the fingers of the hand on his chest and let out a soft sigh. Then you felt his fingers tangling in your hair and you let out another sigh, this was nice. You could get used to this. Okay, yes, you were crazy for actually considering a relationship with Dirk, but at the end of the day? You really didn't care, you just wanted to have a chance to be happy again. To be completely honest, you also wanted to see Dirk happy again.

"Dave?"

"Yeah?" You looked up at him, after the silence, his voice was unexpected to you.

"Why me?" His voice was flat, though you could tell he wasn't sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"Honestly, I don't know."

"What can you hope to gain if we were together? Wouldn't we have to hide our relationship?"

This managed to get a disgruntled huff out of you. "I don't care if people know about us. I don't care if people think it's wrong. I don't even fucking care if my friends judge me for it. All I care about is being happy... and I want you to be happy too, Dirk." You then rolled in his arm and looked at him, propped up on your elbows. "You have had it rough. You deserve to be happy, and I honestly, as confusing as it is for me, really want to be the one to make you happy. I miss your smile that you always had when you were with Jake." You then looked away and frown. You sometimes, okay always, hated thinking about that period, because it was shortly after you met them. Dirk gave Jake another chance and even though you had a bad feeling about it, you were glad he was happy.

Letting out a soft sigh, you heard him start laughing quietly. "You are sure you would be willing to put up with any criticism you got for having a relationship with your brother. You are willing to deal with the consequences of having sex with me?" Dirk was running his fingers through your hair as he spoke, he smirked slightly. This seemed to coax the strangest sound of contentment you had ever heard, and it surprised you even more when you realized that it was coming from you. Then you suddenly felt a light pressure on the top of your head, which you were quick to figure out was a kiss from Dirk.

"Yes to the first question. As for the second, it depends on the consequences."

"The looks. The questions about how you could do something so disgusting. Oh, and the curious few who wonder what it is like being attracted to your brother." You could hear the chuckle from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to see where I post my work on tumblr, check out [dstridesandkarkles-ao3](http://dstridesandkarkles-ao3.tumblr.com) and to just check out my randomness, feel free to check out my main blog, [dstridesandkarkles](http://dstridesandkarkles.tumblr.com).


	4. Whataya Want From Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dave Strider [Knight of Time God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Whataya Want From Me? - Adam Lambert](https://youtu.be/X1Fqn9du7xo)

**== >Dave: Dream.**

You would, but you were just waking up. You didn't even remember falling asleep again. The last thing you remembered was talking to Dirk about relationships and consequences. Which you still didn't completely know what was going on between you two. All you knew was that there was a sleeping Prince of Heart octopus-sing you in his sleep and you were too happy to fight it. Though you let out a groan when you heard your phone go off. You forgot to message Rose even though you told Dirk you would. Since you hadn't talked to her since she left last night, you could only assume that was her messaging you. Picking up your phone, you looked at it, sure enough Rose was messaging you on pesterchum.

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --  
  
TT: Dave Strider, if you do not answer me in the next five minutes, I will call Dirk.  
TG: seriously rose you need to calm down  
TG: hes asleep so if you wake him up ill disown you  
TT: You were supposed to talk to me hours ago. Last night kind of hours ago.  
TT: Do I even want to know what happened last night?  
TG: we talked and i fell asleep in the middle of the talk  
TG: i woke up at two in the morning and we talked more and i fell asleep on him again  
TG: and i just woke up again before you messaged  
TG: stop me if this is getting too rated x for you  
TT: You just talked? Why do I find this difficult to believe Mr. Strider?  
TG: because you are unnaturally skeptical to anything involving striders  
TT: I suppose that would be true. Color me impressed.  
TG: did you seriously message me just to ask about if i had sex last night?  
TT: No. I messaged you to see if you were okay.  
TT: Which is still in question at this point.  
TG: why wouldnt i be?  
TT: Well none of us have seen you cry before. We didn't even know that you were capable of such an action.  
TT: John's thoughtless comment about how you always are in relationships with people who use you, save for with Terezi and Jade.  
TT: Well seeing you cry like that, it threw us all through a loop. We didn't know how to react.  
TG: yeah well it really got to me to think that i could end up in a relationship like that with dirk  
TG: i never thought of a relationship with him and the thought of him using me actually affected me  
TT: Are you trying to say you are only human?  
TG: yes  
TT: How surprisingly mature of you. It never ceases to amaze me how much you continue to mature after the game.  
TG: whatever im going back to bed  
TG: ill talk to you later rose  
TT: Holding you to that, Dave.  
  
\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] --

You knew you weren't going to bed again anytime soon. Actually you were a little surprised you hadn't woken up earlier. Looking down at Dirk as you felt him shift a little, you were a bit worried that the light from your phone woke him. Though you sighed in relief as he just buried his head into your side, a low content sound coming from him. You had to admit, even though you could barely breathe with how tightly he was holding onto you, you could probably get used to this. Well, you weren't too sure about that, but maybe the clinging so tightly would wear off. You were sure that he had the same mindset as you, in thinking it was hard to believe this was real. Like in one single moment all this happiness you felt would end. You would wake up and find yourself all alone in bed. Honestly, you weren't sure you would have been able to handle that. If you could cry in a dream, you were sure that losing happiness like this would break you completely.

You were lost in your own spiraling thoughts that the only thing that pulled you back to your perception of reality was the light kiss you felt on your chest. Blinking, you looked down to see a concerned Dirk staring back, his beautiful golden orange eyes seeming a little pained as well. "Dirk? Is something wrong?" You weren't sure if you wanted to hear the answer.

"You."

"What?" You could hear the panic in your voice. Shit, what the hell did he mean by that?

Dirk then sighed and ran his hand along your chest. "Calm down, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that your heart was racing. It's not that easy to sleep when the calming rhythm of your heart accelerates so suddenly." He chuckled a bit before he buried his face in your chest. "What's wrong, Dave?" He murmured worriedly.

You looked away from him, really not wanting to tell him about what you were thinking. "It's nothing important, Dirk." You smiled and then moved enough that you could lean over and press a soft kiss to his lips. You let out a sigh as you felt his hand weave into your hair, tangling your hair through his fingers. Deepening the kiss, you grinned, thinking you had successfully distracted him from his inquisition. Though, just as you thought you had layered on a heavy pile of safety, seriously it was like nothing wanted anything to with you in fear of that safety net, you noticed Dirk stiffen, abruptly ending the kiss. You groaned in response.

"Nice try." He breathed against your lips.

**== >Dave: Put off the bullshit.**

You groaned even louder as you fell back on his bed. "Why would you ruin the moment like that?" You sighed, you just wanted to keep his mind off of what was on your mind. Closing your eyes, you tried to even out your breathing.

Next thing you knew, you felt the shift next to you. You assumed Dirk was getting up, well until you felt the pressure of him on top of you. You felt him grab your wrists, then pin them above your head. Gasping as you felt his erection through his pants, pressing against yours, your eyes flew open. When they did, you watched as he lowered himself, his tongue flicking your nipple in the most torturous and delicious way, eliciting a moan from your lips.

"I'm going to give you two options." He breathed as he pulled back, gathered both wrists in one hand, reached over to his nightstand and opened the middle drawer. Then he pulled out something you couldn't quite see, as he leaned back down, moving to whisper in your ear. "You can tell me what I want to know, in which case I will let you distract me all you want today. Or, you can continue to not to tell me, and I'll handcuff you to the bed, bring you to the edge of climax, and then leave you to suffer while I go take a shower." He smirked, pulling the handcuffs from behind him, for you to only then realize that was what he had pulled out of his drawer. "It's your choice lil man."

He had you, he knew it, you knew it, the whole damn world knew it. The only thing you didn't know was if he could actually make it so he stopped when you were on the edge. You weren't entirely sure you wanted to find out, mostly because somewhere in the back of your mind, you had the strong feeling that he could. "You fight dirty." You growled out.

"I never claimed to play fair, little Strider."

"So if I spill it, does that mean I get to cuff you?" You asked curiously, your brow arched a bit.

"Depends. Have you ever done anything like this before? It can get pretty dangerous, if you don't know what you are doing."

"It's just handcuffs." You said bluntly, a little confused about where that came from.

"What if I told you that I like it a little rougher than most people. Handcuffs are only a part of what I am into, Dave."

"You lost me." Not really, you had an idea of what he was talking about. You had a partner who was into some pretty kinky shit. Not everything the guy liked you could get into. But a lot of it seemed to really get both your rocks off. Anyway, you were wanting to see how much Dirk was willing to offer up before you inevitably spilled your guts. Luckily he hadn't seemed to realize this was a distraction tactic. Yet.

He rolled his eyes at you. Oh, he might have seen through that one. Well damn. "I get the feeling you know what I mean. I'll say it anyway, for the sake of getting you to spill it. I like it rough, I like being bound and gagged, I like being punished, I like being treated like a, well I guess possession would be the best word for it. I like the feeling of my partner dominating me, making sure I know I belong to him and him alone. In essence, I'm into the BDSM lifestyle, but I only engage in the dom and sub activity in the bedroom. Most of my partners were never into it that much so it wasn't something that really took place outside the bedroom." He sighed and looked down at you, trying to gauge your reaction to his confession.

Blinking, you are not sure what kind of reaction he expected from you, but you eventually just smiled, chuckled a bit. "This may be a little bit of a surprise to you, but I already know about that lifestyle. I will admit, it is a little surprising to find out you are into it though." You struggled against his hold, your fists balled at the attempt. You were trying to lean up and swiftly kiss him, but he had you pinned down pretty good. Instead you merely sighed out of frustration. "I guess you are living every prince's dream, pinning down your knight in shining armor, huh?" You managed to laugh again.

This managed to get a chuckle from him, though the sound seemed confused. Victory, you guessed? "What do you mean, you know of it?" He seemed genuinely confused, you actually felt kinda bad. Then his eyes fell with sudden realization. "You've done this kind of thing before." This was a statement, a statement that sounded deadpan as well as a bit disheartened. You thought that was the right description of the combination. Why though?

You looked away from him, your breathing quickened a little as you tried to keep the memories at bay. "I didn't have a good experience with it. When I was with Gamzee, he was into it hardcore. He wasn't the one who submitted... he forced me into submission every day, even in public. I honestly don't know if I could properly be a dominant for you, because I'd be too afraid of doing to you what was done to me. If I ever hurt you, I would never forgive myself, Dirk." You were practically hyperventilating at this point. You barely registered the fact that your hands were free, only when you felt yourself being pulled up, Dirk's arms around you as he tried to calm you as he rubbed your back. He was shushing you, holding you close to him as you trembled.

"Dave, calm down. You are okay, you hear me? I'm not going to make you do anything you aren't comfortable with. I don't want that from you, I just want you to be happy, I want you to feel safe. With me, you will be safe. I swear. Please, just calm down." There was panic in his voice as he ran his hand up and down your back in a soothing manner. His other hand was around the back of your head, holding your face against his shoulder. You tried to concentrate on only what he was saying, to calm down for his sake. You wrapped your arms around him, your fists balling as you held onto him. Your breathing started to even out, slowly, painfully slow.

As your breathing stilled, you slowly looked up at Dirk, your eyes filled with fear still. "I... I'm sorry, Dirk. I didn't mean to lose my shit like that. I felt like I owed you an explanation when I heard the way you sounded when you realized what I meant. I knew I hated thinking about that time of my life, I was so weak then, but I thought I could handle it long enough to tell you. Because I trust you not to do the same thing to me, to not use me like almost everyone else I've been with." As you finished speaking, you pulled your arms from around him and reached up. Taking his face in your hands, you lean in and kissed him hard. You weren't sure who you were trying to convince more that you were okay, him or yourself.

**== >Dave: Lose yourself.**

You pulled him in closer, deepening the kiss as you pressed your chest flushed against his. You moved your hands from his cheek and into his hair. As you shifted, you moved to push Dirk back onto the bed, your body grinding against his. However, his body stiffened beneath you, which caused you to groan loudly in response. "Please Dirk... just..." You pleaded as you leaned down and kissed along his neck, dragging your teeth teasingly along after the kisses. You needed the distraction if there was any way of the day being salvaged for the two of you.

He seemed to get the hint, his arms wrapped around you as he pulled you in. He then weaved his fingers through your hair, whispering as he tried to keep his bearings between each of your bites. "Anything, if it will help you." His body then arched up, meeting with your needy grinding. This caused you to gasp, one of your hands moved from beside him, to glide down his body, brushing every part of his chest slowly and gently. Nipping at his neck, you started tugging on his pants as you tried to undo the button on his jeans.

He groaned, gripping tighter onto you as he breathing quickened with each touch. "You will need to tell me what you do and don't like then." You smirked against his neck as you said this. Then you pulled down the zipper of his jeans teasingly slow, his body squirming beneath you slightly, your eyes managed to catch a glimpse of what looked like him nodding at your words. A low hiss passed through his lips as you pulled his pants off swiftly and effortlessly. That managed to get a smirk from you. You bit down playfully on his shoulder, and then along his shoulder blade and then up his neck.

As you brushed your hand lightly over his boxers, your hand lingered over his erection. Having not missed the sharp intake of air he took, your eyes looked up at him. "How badly do you want me baby?"

He blinked for a moment, letting you know that he hadn't missed what you called him. "Very. I've wanted you since the moment we met. Wanted isn't even the right word. I've needed you, Dave." His hands moved to grip onto your arms, the strength of the hold reflected his words.

"Then I guess it is about time that I give you what you need." You smirked as you slipped your hand down his boxers. Taking hold of his length in your hand, you started stroking his length slowly. You relished in each breathy moan you got to escape his lips. Leaning down, you began to kiss down his neck again, then down his chest. Though you deviated this time, your head made its way to his left nipple, your free hand moving to the right one. As you bit down lightly on one, you pinched the other, and his body reacted in the best way you could have asked for. Feeling the space between you two close, you sunk your teeth in a little bit more, releasing the other only to flick it playfully. The moan the actions elicited were like music to your ears.

Slowly licking along your way down his chest, you nipped at his stomach playfully before you pulled your hand from his length. Pulling back, you released your hold on his body, grinning ever so slightly. "You know, you make the most beautiful sounds when I'm teasing you." You then moved in to press your lips to his as you take his hands, guiding them slowly down your body. You stopped when you got his hands to the hem of your pants. You then wait to see what he will do next as you placed your hands on either side of his head.

He gets the hint and begins to then unfasten the button of your jeans. "Only because you've made me wait so long for you, babe." He managed to get out between kisses as he tugged down the zipper and started to push your jeans off. As he worked on your pants, you started pulling down his boxers, burying your face in his neck as your chest pressed into his. You were grinning to yourself, though you were pretty sure that he would feel it, were he actually paying attention.

When you were finally relieved of your pants, you gasped out at his next action. Surely it was to be expected, though you thought you were in full control of the situation, not that you were complaining. You began to moan against his neck as he palmed you through your boxers. God, you didn't even know the last time you had let yourself feel the pleasure of being worshiped the way that Dirk was with every action. It seemed perfectly calculated in order to bring out the best reaction from you, and suddenly you were losing your will to torture him before fucking him. You moved so that you fell onto the bed, pulling him on top of you and grinning.

"I changed my mind, I don't want this to be quick like I thought, I want you to show me how much you love me, Dirk. I need you to." You looked away, though with the light of the sun, he could clearly see the blush on your cheeks. You were just falling back into the issue that ended up causing a problem in the first place. You needed to have this confirmation if you were ever going to be able to get over John's words. It was only when you felt Dirk's hand on your chin, urging you to look at him, that you did.

"Does this have to do with whatever has been bothering you since yesterday?" He sounded a little worried, but showed no sign that he wasn't willing to dispel your worries. When all you did was simply nod, you noticed the frown on his lips, which caused you to bite your bottom lip. Though you were caught by surprise by his next words. "I never intended anything but to show you how much I love you, Dave. I want you to know." Then he pressed his lips to yours and you couldn't help but to reach up. Holding his face in your hands, you made sure to pour all the passion you could into the simple gesture, though you moaned into the kiss when he started to palm you again.

You let your hands glide up from his face to his hair, weaving your fingers into his hair as he pulled from your lips. When you felt his lips rest on your neck, you smiled, though it quickly turning into another gasp as you felt the pull of sucking and light bites replace the kisses. Your back arched a little at the sensation coupled with with the feeling of his middle finger stroking along the length of your shaft. You didn't even remember feeling his hand slip down your boxers, though you were pretty sure he had made sure that was a thing that happened on purpose. "D... Dirk. You're gonna give me a h... hickey..." You whined halfheartedly.

"And?"

"Th... oh fuck." You gasp out as he takes hold of the orbs at the base of your shaft and begins massaging them gently. You had been left there, your breathing harsh, your mind blanked out. What were you talking about again? Oh nothing too important clearly, as you were being manhandled in the best possible sense of the word.

After he had been sufficiently sated with the mark he knew he was going to have left by the end of this excursion, he started kissing and biting down your chest, down to your happy trail before he took the elastic of your boxers in his teeth. Pulling them off slowly, he wasn't even trying to avoid brushing against you. Once off, he tossed them across the room, grinning up at you. You couldn't be too sure what you were feeling, excitement mixed with anticipation, or fear. You were hoping it was the former, because the last thing you wanted right now was to feel fear around someone you loved so deeply.

Before you could get too lost, yet again, you felt the sensation of something warm and wet along your shaft, a low groan leaving you. Pressing your head into the pillow, you gripped tightly to the bed, relishing the feeling of Dirk's tongue tasting you, driving you crazy. This was one thing that was new for you, having been in abusive relationships for so long, you rarely got the reward of feeling genuine pleasure. Your mouth was opened wide, a stream of profanities mixed with his name escaping the more he worked you. You came close to losing your shit completely when you took you in his mouth. He knew exactly what he was doing, which didn't surprise you, as he massaged the orbs again with one hand, stroking you with the other as he bobbed his head up and down.

After a few minutes of delightful torture, your back arching again, you knew you had to stop him. The last thing you wanted was to cum in his mouth. Okay, that was a lie, but you weren't sure if you were going to be able to get him off before you wanted to fuck him into the bed. You didn't want to be that unfair partner who got off twice and Dirk didn't get off at all... or maybe it would be just once. Fuck if you knew, you just knew you wanted this to be a fair exchange.

"D... ah fuck! Dirk, I'm close..." You whined pathetically.

Pulling himself from you, he looked up, his eyes wild with anticipation. That alone was almost enough to finish you off. You gasped a bit before letting you head rest against the pillow again, your eyes closed again. "Let go, Dave. I want to taste you, I've wanted to for so long." His words sounded like a purr from a cat, then his lips were around your erection once more, his tongue swirling around the head of your dick and you were undone at the seams. You gasped out again, breathing his name once more as you reached your climax, your warm seed flowing into his mouth.

It took you a moment to recover, though when you did, you were smiling the most ridiculous smile ever. "Come here." After he had complied with your demand, you pulled him in, kissing him, and sweet baby Jegus, he tasted of both him and you. You being the overwhelming taste in this equation. In the middle of the kiss, you had rolled the two of you over so that you were now on top of him. You kissed the side of his mouth, along his neck, and down his chest. When you got to the top of his happy trail, you had stopped momentarily before you licked slowly up the length of his shaft.

The moan this coaxed from him sounded a little surprised. Licking along the length once more, you then moved to lick at the globes, your hand stroking him as you teased him. The unmistakable sound of his cussing as he moaned your name was amazing, your eyes closing as you got more into it with each passing moment. You were more and more positive that you had found something real this time, something you could trust to not end in you being in the hospital before you finally realized it was time to call it quits. No, this was something you were going to make work.

You then took one of the globes into your mouth, humming in contentment at the sound your light sucking seemed to drive from his lips. You started stroking him faster, his hands gripping onto the bed tighter than yours had. When you finally released him, it wasn’t a long reprieve, though it was enough to get a pitiful whine out of him. You were quick to quiet the whining, sliding him into your mouth, feeling the sensation of fullness like you never had before.

Pulling from him, you looked up at him, grinning. ”You do not know how delicious you taste. It’s actually kind of a shame.” You then kissed the head of his shaft before sliding him back into your mouth. Swirling your tongue just as you had, he was muttering incoherently, though you managed to catch your name a time or two.

You kept up this dizzying torture as you stroked him, massaging the orbs at his base, for about fifteen more minutes. Hearing a low murmur from Dirk, you pulled yourself from him. ”No... Dave... please... I’m so close...” He pleaded and this managed to get you to smirk.

”I wasn’t going to let you take me by surprise, Dirk. I may be good, but that doesn’t mean I want to possibly choke.” Your words and laugh were breathy and then slipped your lips over him again, repeating the torture at a faster pace this time. You wanted him to let go, to unravel and let you have just a taste of his sweet love. You heard one last groan from him before you felt the warmth rush into your mouth.

You swallowed most of it greedily, though you felt nice enough to let him share in the taste. When you pulled off him, you moved up his body and took him by the chin. He was still panting as you pressed your lips to him, inviting him to taste how delicious he was, and he surprised you by accepting the invitation. His arms were around you, holding you close as the two of you kissed.

When you finally pulled away, he arched his body toward you. All this did was make leaning into whisper in his ear easier. ”I’m going to take you now. I’m going to make you mine, make sure you know that only I get to have you now. No more Jake, no more Cronus, no more anyone but me. You will be mine alone to love. Got it?” You smiled, you loved him, and you refused to share him. He seemed to share in that sentiment when you saw him nod, the loving look in his eyes nearly killing you.

You reached over to his nightstand. You weren’t sure which drawer was the right one, but you wanted to guess it was the middle one, since it appeared he had a lot of kinky things in that one. Opening the middle drawer, you rummaged around until you found what you looking for, a bottle of lube. Pulling it from the drawer, you pulled yourself from him, sitting on your knees.

You knew that you wanted to see him as you took over his whole world. Squeezing some onto the tip of your finger, you pulled him up, sliding his ass along your legs. You then proceeded to rub around his entrance, and when sufficiently pleased with how it was, slowly wormed your finger inside him. The sharp intake of air from him as you wiggled your finger inside him pleased you. Using your free hand, you pulled him up so that he was sitting in your lap. ”Wrap your arms around my neck.”

As he did what you told him to, you released your hold on him, your finger still busy inside him. Pulling one of his arms from your neck, you then grabbed the bottle again, this time squeezing some lube in his hand. ”You want me to?” You nodded and that was all the invitation he needed to start stroking you with the lubed hand. You placed your free hand back around him, moaning out against each stroke as you wriggled your finger inside him at a faster pace.

When you felt the pressure of his erection against your stomach, you hissed out and slid your finger from him. He took this as his queue to release you. Grabbing his hips, you lifted him just enough to place him over your dick, the head probing his entrance. You reveled in the gasp just the simple touch drove from him, smiling as you slowly lowered him down on you. Groaning into his neck, you felt the way his breathing hitched, his eyes closing as he moaned out your name. ”How’s it feel? It doesn’t hurt, does it?” You asked, your tone a little worried.

”No... it feels a... amazing. L... Like everything I e... ever dreamed of.” He breaths between moans, though you were rolling your eyes. It was kind of cheesy you guessed, but it made you happy to hear irregardless.

As you got him seated on you, you murmured against his neck, letting him know you were going to start moving. He nodded, his hands gripping onto your shoulders in anticipation. As soon as you started, you felt it was a little easier than you had expected, you were sure that he was not that light, you both weighed about the same. It wasn’t until you noticed that he was moving with you that he realized what he was trying to do. You stilled yourself but kept your hands on his waist, whispering for him to keep going.

Each movement caused each of your breathing to get more ragged. Every once in a while you would buck unexpectedly, which wasn’t a problem when it elicited such beautiful moans from him. With each buck, his grip tightened, you were whispering how beautiful he was between moans. You could feel yourself losing it. You were getting close to your climax. Reaching between the two of you, you wrapped your hand around his shaft and started stroking him.

The moaning from him started getting more and more incoherent as you stroked him, feeling him moving on your dick. Muttering against him again, you tried to hold yourself back. ”I’m so close babe... I want to fill you up, okay?” He simply nodded, you could see from the look in his eyes he was almost there as well.

Pressing your lips to his, you were both moaning into the kiss, your grip on his waist tightening as your body stilled. Feeling yourself release inside him, you bit his lower lip, causing a louder moan to leave him. It was only a matter of maybe a minute before you felt the warmth on your stomach, a smile played across your lips at the realization that he had reached his limit as well. As you both stilled, you moved to press him against your chest, falling onto the bed on top of him. You began kissing him more passionately than you had before now. You were happy, you had what you wanted and he loved you as much as you loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh mah gosh, the last time I updated this was July 15th, 2014. It is now March 25th, 2015. Ugh!  
> Broken computers suck.  
> But at least this chapter was worth it. And hopefully my writing skills have improved since all this time working and waiting on my computer to be fixed.
> 
> Comment if you have anything you would like added to the story arc, I can find a way to make it fit. :33 If it is something that I don't think I can fit into this fic, it will likely end up used in another or even be used as the basis for a new one! I've got so much pent up creativity, which is probably why this chapter ended up as long as it did!


	5. Catch My Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dirk Strider [Prince of Heart God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson](https://youtu.be/HEValZuFYRU)

**== >Dirk: Get the hell up.**

It was about three in the afternoon. You woke up this morning (which for the record, you hate being awake at fucking nine in the morning, fuck you very much) to Dave panicking over something. You tried your damnedest to get him to tell you what was wrong. But instead he kept subject dodging. You did learn something about him though, some things are best left in the past for him. You are not sure how this whole relationship will work. Fuck, if Dave was going to be worried about hurting you, or doing something to make you feel how Gamzee made him feel, you didn’t know how to help with that. You have never had an abusive partner like that. Somehow he managed to convince you to sleep with him rather than get the information you wanted. Seriously, you were not actually expecting it even though he kept trying to use it as a distraction. He did eventually end up telling you what had originally set him off when you woke up.

You’ve been staring at the ceiling, lost in thought from what Dave said, for the past couple hours, Dave curled up next to you. You had to admit, you really fucking liked cuddling with Dave. A lot more than you probably should have been allowed to. Especially because neither of you has addressed what you are at the moment. Even after having sex with each, you both (or at least you) weren’t even sure what your relationship qualified as. You reluctantly nudged Dave off of you, you were enjoying listening to him mumble his little song. Biting your lip when he looked at you with those confused eyes, you smiled a little.

“I think it is about time we finally address the elephant in the room, I mean damn air supply is being used up hellsa fast.” You laugh a little. You don’t normally say the word ‘hellsa’ but you were trying to make a point. Dave seemed to get it since he was laughing a little himself.

“What elephant?”

Rolling your eyes at him, you sighed and shook your head. “You know damn well what elephant.” You then reached over, taking his hand in your own and then kissing it lightly. After that, you rested your cheek on the back of his hand as you tried to think of the way that you wanted to word this. There was nothing more awkward than asking your brother to be your boyfriend as well. Did you simply just say ‘hey go out with me?’ Taking a deep breath, you let your eyes look into his, your cheek still on the back of his hand. “We are so fucking backwards here, seriously the irons are in _ALL_ the wrong fires at the moment. But I told you that I love you, and you told me that you love me. Which I still think you are insane for, but not the point. Not to mention we already had sex before ironing out the details of our relationship. But Dave, will you please be my...  You hesitated on the last word, not sure if you are misreading something or not. You don’t think so though.  “boyfriend?”

“Really, you have to ask? And here I thought you were worried about how people will feel about. Yes, of course, I will dumbass.” He was grinning like an idiot, though you could sense the hint of fear still there. Damn Egbert for making Dave even consider for a moment that You were anything like those other assholes Dave’s been with. Every time Dave came home hurt, no matter if it was physical, emotional, or mental, you wanted to kill the bastard responsible. “For the record, you messed up Vriska’s signature line. Don’t let her hear you say it wrong.” You laugh alongside Dave this time, then lean in and kiss his lips gently, letting your lips mold with his effortlessly as you place a hand on his cheek.

When you finally pulled away, you smiled. “In return, I will promise you this. I will treat you with all the love that you deserve. I will never make you feel like anything less than the amazing person you are, the amazing person that I fell for the more I got to know you.” Resting your forehead on his as you finished, you took his hand in your own, your eyes staying locked on his. You could hear what sounded like your phone going off in the background, but you really didn’t want to answer it.

You let out an annoyed sigh as your phone’s sound changed from the text notification to the ringtone you had for Jake. Mostly it was annoyed because of the fact that Dave immediately froze up. Which you supposed was understandable, he is your ex. Just as you were about to reach for it, Dave stopped you and grabbed your phone. You expected him to hit ignore, but he didn’t. After hitting the button, he put the phone to his ear, and you panicked a bit.

“Hello, Jake.” You blinked before your eyes widening. His voice was completely even. As he waited, you were searching his eyes, and he was smiling at you? What?

“No, he’s right here. We were just talking. He looked like he didn’t want to be rude, so I answered.” He stated, sounding kind of amused, though he didn’t laugh. You knew better than to think he would laugh on the phone with anyone, except maybe his friends or you. Definitely you. It’s happened a few times on the rare calls when you or he were out.

He handed you the phone after Jake seemingly asked to talk to you. Taking it hesitantly, you looked to him as you put it to your ear. You saw him mouth a sorry, though you were pretty sure you should have been the one apologizing. “What can I do ya for, English?” You asked.

“Ah there you are, Strider. Jane, Roxy, and I got a little worried when you didn’t show up to hang out with us today. Are you okay old bean?” But you’ve stopped listening. Your expression had gone blank which seemed to worry Dave. He was shaking you a little, you mouth to him that you forgot about your plans for today. He froze before quickly regaining his composure.

“Strider? Are you there? Roxy! Give my phone back! His voice was more distant on that last sentence. Dave was mouthing that you should go so they didn’t come here and drag you out forcefully. You cringed, because they’ve done it before, with Dave staring in disbelief.

“Dirky, where are yoooooooooooooou?” You snapped back into focus, nodding to Dave. Sighing you wished that you could have not gone. You wanted to spend more time with Dave. Before answering her, you mouthed to him, asking if he was going to hang out with his gang while you were gone. He just nodded, at least he wouldn’t be alone.

“I’m at home. Believe it or not, I actually slept for once.” You feigned as much shock as you could muster, winking at Dave when he started chuckling.

“Oh shit. You got laid! You are normally never _this_ late, let alone sleeping well! You need to get here right now and give your bfffl the deets, get your stupid hot gay ass here now!” Your eyes widened, your body stiffened. Dave’s laughter cut off not even a second later. You held up one finger, so he knew not to ask yet.

“That is a bold assumption. Besides, why are you so certain I was telling the truth about sleeping? I mean, I’ll be there as soon as I get my ‘stupid hot gay ass’ dressed.” You were making air quotes, which caused Dave to laugh again. This time louder, though he quickly covered his mouth.

“Why is Dave laughing in the background?” She sounded annoyed, well shit. You shot a glare at Dave, which he returned with an apologetic look of his own. You sighed.

“Because I was making fun of your word choice. Anyway, I’m gonna go so I can get dressed, finish my talk with Dave, and then drop him off at Jane’s place to chill with John.” Well at least you were glad that they all seemed to believe Dave’s talking excuse. That meant that Rose didn’t say anything to Roxy, which meant she didn’t tell Jane and Jake. You weren’t sure you were ready for them to find out from _Rose_.

Clicking the end button, you tossed your phone on the bed and then pressed Dave against the bed. “Roxy knows I slept with someone. She doesn’t know who. But I can’t hide shit from her, we’ve known each other intimately for too long. She sees through my lies too easily.” You sighed and then bit his neck roughly. Feeling him squirm under you, you smirked. “Message John that you are coming over.”

**== >Dirk: Drop off Dave.**

Pulling up to Jane’s house in your [Jeep Wrangler](http://www.ruggedridge.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/DSC_02241.jpg), you look over to Dave as you park in the driveway. “If John, or anyone for that matter, tries to pressure you about yesterday, I want you to only tell them if you really want to. Not because you feel obligated as their friend, but because you genuinely want to. Okay?” You smiled, adjusting your shades so that they didn’t clash with Dave’s as you kissed him. Your hand was on his cheek as you kissed him, though you stiffened and quickly dropped your hand from his cheek. “Shit. Correction, you are most definitely going to be asked about last night. Egbert just saw us kissing…” You sighed. You wanted this to be his decision, not something forced on him.

Dave groaned and kissed you again anyway. “You worry too much, Dirk. Don’t get in too much trouble with Rox. I don’t think I can bail you out from her shenanigans again.” He said as he opened his door, slowly climbing out. He seemed more reluctant than normal to be leaving your side. Well, shit if that wasn’t the most endearing thing you’ve seen from him. You sigh again, wondering how the hell you are going to be able to live with yourself for corrupting him so thoroughly.

“I don’t think I have the patience to put up with _those_ kind of shenanigans, Dave. Anyway, text me when you want to come home, and I’ll come get you.”

“Alright. Laters babe.” He smirked as he walked off, a hand in the air as if waving, though it wasn’t moving. You shook your head and put the jeep in reverse before backing out of the driveway. Shifting the car into drive, you headed off to the bar you were supposed to meet the gang at.

You guys usually played pool, and drank thanks to the fake IDs you and Rox made. None of you drank near as much as Rox used to. Sometimes enough to spill secrets though. Rox drank the least of all of you now. When you got to the bar, Rox seemed pretty content to be a distraction for Jake when he tried to shoot the cue ball at the number nine ball. So Jake was stripes this time. It looked like Jane was playing against him though, well that explained why RoLal was the distraction.

You laughed when you saw Jake miss the shot because of Roxy grinding against his fabulous ass. You have long since stopped getting annoyed with Roxy intentionally flaunting her interest in the oblivious idiot. As you walked over, you were immediately snatched up by Rox and pulled away from Crocker and English. They were left staring after you both as you sat at the bar. You did manage a wave at them though.

“Alright, spill it DiStri. Who did you sleep with? Because you are glowing. Literally, like you seem like the happiest mother fucker and you have not given that vibe off in a couple years.” She interrogated, ordering your usual drinks. You guys went to this bar so much that they didn’t even bother IDing you anymore.

“I can’t tell you, RoLal. Best female friend for life or not, you would not be able to begin to understand.” You stated simply. You took a swig of your drink as soon as it arrived, ignoring the huff of frustration she gave you.

“Try me, Dirk.” Oh. She used your name instead of her nickname for you. Serious business time, clearly.

“Can we take it outside? Actually… nevermind. I don’t care. He doesn’t care about repercussions, so why should I be reserved about it?” You said most of that under your breath, but she seemed to somehow still catch it. Well shit.

She grabbed your arms and looked directly into your eyes through your shades. ”Who, Dirk?”

”Dave. But that wasn’t why I slept well, RoLal. I slept well because I found out he didn’t hate me like I thought. He told me that he was in love with me, and you know, the freak I am, you were the first to figure out I loved him, before even I truly figured it out. Rox... ” You buried your face in your hands, groaning.

Her hands dropped from your arms, and for the slightest moment, you thought you lost the dearest friend you had ever known. Then you felt her pull you into her arms, rubbing your back softly. ”Don’t say it, DiStri… please. I can’t handle you berating yourself if this is something that will truly make you happy. You haven’t been happy in so long. So what if it is our ecto-son? Dirk, you and I had the toughest upbringing. We are both attracted to people we probably shouldn’t be. This is _our_ norm.”

"This isn't a norm for him though. I don't understand how he is so okay with it. He had a fucked up upbringing, I get that. But his was so much better than ours, RoLal..." You brought your drink to your lips, chugging the whole thing down. Rox just stared at you, she knew how you got when you thought about how fucked up you guys were. You ignored her stare as you ordered another drink. Your eyes wandered off in the direction of Jake and Jane's game. It looked like Jane was winning, surprisingly she was amazing at pool. But no one ever beat Jake, except you. You were the best in the group at pool.

Roxy just sighed as she stood up, placing a hand on your shoulder, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “You shouldn’t dwell on how messed up we are. Dave is clearly okay with it, let yourself enjoy it. We are how we are, he accepts that and still loves you. Don’t think about it too much, DiStri.” She then took her hand from your shoulder and walked over to your friends, a huge smile on her lips. You envied how easily it seemed that she could shift her emotions around like that. You didn’t bother, you just kept your stoicism in check at all times.

Downing half of your second drink in one go, you got up and walked over to your friends. “So am I playing winner?” You asked, knowing full well that Roxy probably already called it. Leaning against the wall closest to Jake, you watch as he tries to line up his shot. He and Jane each had one ball left before either of them could legally sink the eight ball. “English, you losing your touch? You’re coming close to losing to Crocker!” You sneered.

Jake took a moment to glare at you before he sank the number twelve ball in the top right corner (from your point of view) pocket, smirking. “Quiet wench, for I am about to beat Jane once again.” He slurred and then snickered before he moved around the table to line up the shot for the eight ball. If there was one thing you knew, it was that Jake never called you a wench unless he was completely smashed.

“You forgot to call the shot again, Jake.” Jane whines. You don’t even know why she bothers keeping up with the rules when drinking is involved. It wasn’t like you guys really played except when drinking though. None of you owned a pool table. Okay, that’s a lie, you totally owned one, but you didn’t let them know that. You just didn’t want them to be over at your house all the time, drinking and flirting in front of you. Especially Crocker and English. They got very touchy feely when drunk. It made you uncomfortable.

Then again, you don’t think that’s the case anymore…

“You know how he gets when he is smashed, Jane. Are you really trying to keep the rules going when you are both drinking?” You asked as you pointed to the beer in her hand.

You remember the first time you saw her drinking beer. It was funny actually because you took her for a wine cooler kind of gal, and there she was, drinking the Sam Adams Utopias you bought online. It was for the party you threw when you all got out of the game. Cost you a pretty penny (six hundred dollars to be exact because it was supposed to last a while and serve multiple people), but it was worth it. Though since it was practically a mini-keg, and a limited release beer, you were glad it sure as fuck didn’t taste like beer. You mean fuck, it better not with an ABV of twenty-seven percent.

The only downside to that party was that now whenever you see her drink beer, you notice the bit of disappointment in her eyes. She must have really liked that one. You should probably try to get another one and throw another party just so she could have some. That was easier said than done, you were lucky to get the one you got.

“I guess you’re right, Dirk. I guess I’ll drop the keeping to the rules schtick.” She giggled before watching as Jake missed the eight ball in the side pocket. Walking over to the side of the table, she leaned forward, all ass sticking out as she lined up the shot to get her number one ball perfectly with the side pocket. Unfortunately, she still managed to hit the ball wrong and missed the pocket completely.

You bust a gut laughing. Roxy is quick to join you. ”Janey, how the actual fuck did you manage to miss a perfect shot like that?” She asked breathlessly. At least she managed to ask what you were both thinking, because you couldn’t stop laughing. It might have been the fact that somehow, you managed to be on your fourth drink. Roxy kept bringing them as you finished, and you were drinking quick tonight.

**== >Dirk: Answer the damn phone.**

This was the third time an unknown number has called your phone. Okay, well, unknown to you, it said the number. It has been the same one, three times in a row, with no more than a minute hesitation between calls. Whoever the fuck was calling you must really want to talk to you. Right before it went to voicemail again, you answered, holding one finger up to your friends, who are all but giggling and just over the top wasted.

“Hello?” You asked, a little hesitant.

“Is this Dirk Strider?” The voice sounded a little apologetic. You wondered why.

“This is he. Who might I ask is calling?”

“This is Dr. Nicolae Lehne. I work at the hospital. Your brother has been in a car accident, he and his friend are in critical condition. We were hoping you could get here as soon as possible, since he asked for you specifically before he went unconscious on the scene.” You had since stopped listening, your eyes wide with horror, which with your shades somehow off after the tenth drink, your friends saw this. They had ceased their giggling completely.

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” And with that, you hang up before you crumple to the floor.

“Dirk, what happened?” Jake asked as he came to your side, attempting to comfort you.

You looked to Jane apologetically before you answered. “Jane, you and I have to get to the hospital, now. It’s Dave and John. They were in an accident and are in critical condition.” You can feel the tears welling up in your eyes.

Jane gasps before running to grab her coat. Roxy came over to help you get up, because you were glued to the floor, a wreck. You couldn’t lose Dave, not now. Not after you finally managed to do something right in his eyes. This was divine punishment, because you fell in love with your brother and you slept with him. You felt yourself sobering up, but you knew you were in no condition to drive. You would have to have Jake or Roxy take your jeep home when one of them was sober.

Jake must have known you weren’t going to drive, because he was already calling you and Jane a cab to the hospital as you grabbed your coat. Roxy was leading you outside, Jane already there, waiting. Jake following after you diligently. As soon as the cool night air hit your face, you broke down. You crumpled again, tears falling to the street.

Jane and Jake were shocked by the sudden emotion from you, from the tears. But Rox knew full well why this was affecting you so much more than it was Jane. Jane wasn’t in love with her brother. Jane wasn’t going to lose someone who she thought hated her til the night before. Jane wasn’t going to be alone because John always somehow made it out okay. Striders were the unlucky bunch. Dave might be lost to you forever and you weren’t sure how to handle that right now with all the alcohol in your system.

Before you knew it, you were grabbing your chest, you couldn’t breath, gasping for air. Your chest was tightening as you put your free hand on the ground. Everything was spinning around you, your stomach was churning. You felt like you were going to vomit. Holy shit. You were having a panic attack, you hadn’t had one of those in years. The gasps came at a faster pace. Even knowing what was happening, you couldn’t stop it. You just kept thinking about Dave, most likely dying, and you kept getting worse.

“Dirk!” You suddenly heard her voice right next to you. Had she been there the whole time? You were sure she had moved over to Jake after you got outside. “Dirk, you need to calm down. Dave is going to be okay, listen to me Dirk. He will be fine. And you will be there to see it. You hear me? And you know what, he will be so happy to see you by his side when he wakes up. That is what you need to think about. Not his condition, but the effect seeing you when he wakes up will have. You can’t make him happy if you are in the hospital because you had an attack over his accident.” She is kneeling down beside you, rubbing your back as she speaks.

You were trying to focus on Roxy’s voice, her words. You knew she is trying to help, that was why you hadn’t cringed away from her. She had been the only person you let touch you when you had an attack. This one might have been easier to help you with than the one you had after you left Jake. She knew you weren’t getting back together with Jake, she knew you didn’t want to that hurt again. But Dave was different. He was your brother, he was someone you had to have some kind of relationship with no matter what. And he was the one who you knew it would kill you to lose, since you never got to know the version of him you grew up idolizing.

The cab finally pulled up, and Jane got in. Rox let Jake know she was going with you and Jane. You assumed he nodded, since you didn’t hear anything from him. You still couldn’t breath as she pulled you up and into the cab.

“We need to get to the hospital as fast as you can get us there.” Her voice had panic in it, but she knew you wouldn’t be able to say anything in this condition. Roxy had you in her arms as you sat between her and Jane, still rubbing your back. You could feel your breathing slowing, the pain in your chest was lightening. You closed your eyes, not wanting the spinning to keep bothering you. RoLal was petting your hair as you leaned against her, your cheeks flushed as your breathing continued to slow. You were so glad to have her with you at this moment, she knew exactly what you needed when you had an attack.

By the time that cab stopped outside the hospital, you were breathing normal again. You reached into your pocket to grab your wallet, pulling out the money to pay for the cab fare. “Thanks.” You managed to choke out before leaving the cab.

Walking into the emergency room doors, you practically flew over to the receptionist. “I’m here to see Dave Strider. What room is he in? Also, she needs to see John Egbert.” You motioned to the now in tears Jane.

The receptionist types away at her computer for a moment before looking up at you both apologetically. “Both David and Jonathan were in bad condition. They are both currently in surgery. David was worse off than Jonathan, it seems the driver of the other vehicle hit the passenger side.”

“No…” You managed to say before crumpling again. You could feel the tightening again. This wasn’t happening. Why did it have to be Dave?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I dunno why but I could totes see RoLal calling herself DiStri's bfffl, and Dirk, being the dweeb he is, not satisfying her by abbreviating 'best female friend for life' as bfffl. I also see her as the most understanding fucking person in the world because fuck they were the last two humans on Earth. THEY HAVE DIFFERENT NORMS AND HE NEEDED AN UNDERSTANDING FRIEND SO I CHOSE ROXY!
> 
> *moves on to writing chapter six instead of ranting forever on the friendship (MOIRALLEGIANCE!) of RoLal and DiStri*
> 
> OH! By the way! I originally had a different idea in mind for the direction of this chapter. However, I don't know what happened, but suddenly I decided to put this piece of crap in as the third command for Dirk and all of a sudden BAM! Car accident! Like fur reel I was thinking maybe Dave wanted to come home when I originally wrote that, I guess my subconscious didn't think there was enough heart wrenching pain in the story at the moment. /sigh
> 
> Lastly... I actually had to look up the symptoms of anxiety attacks... I didn't want to write it wrong and since I don't have them, it would be hard to do it justice without research.


	6. Before Your Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dirk Strider [Prince of Heart God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Before Your Love - Kelly Clarkson](https://youtu.be/NZIS3hiQHho)

**== >Dirk: Come to.**

You weren’t out. You were checked out, as you waited for news on Dave, but you had not passed out or anything lame like that. You have been in this God forsaken hospital since eleven last night, waiting on news about the most important person in your life. It was coming close to twelve thirty in the morning, you had actually talked to Hal for a little while during that time, trying to distract yourself. It didn’t work. How the fuck long was Dave going to be in surgery? He must have been pretty fucking messed up for it to be this long.

John had gotten out of surgery at about eleven forty-seven. Jane had since been visiting with him, though she probably wasn’t going to be for very much longer. So you were sitting in the waiting room with Roxy, she didn’t feel right about leaving you. She kept worrying about you possibly having another attack. Which you probably would if you didn’t hear about Dave anytime soon.

It was twelve thirty-nine when a doctor, you want to assume it was Doctor Lehne, finally came out into the waiting room. “Is the family of David Strider still here?” He asked, definitely Doctor Lehne, and you immediately jump up.

“Is Dave okay? Please… please tell me that he is okay!”

You pleaded, Rox at your side in mere seconds. She knew that depending on the news you received, you would need her to calm you down again.

“Dave will be okay, he is resting now, we’re not sure when, but we think he should wake up soon. He got pretty banged up, but he will make a full recovery.” You could feel yourself breathing again. You hadn’t even realized that you weren’t breathing until you felt that first intake of air.

“Can I see my brother?”

“Sure thing, right this way, Mister Strider.” You didn’t even bother with telling him Dirk was fine. You just needed to see Dave, you needed to see for yourself that he was going to be okay before you would completely believe it. It was pretty lame since you got on Crocker’s case once about how sad it was that it would take something as mundane as seeing to believe.

You waved Roxy off, smiling to her as best as you can manage. “You should probably go home RoLal. If they let me, I’m not leaving til he wakes up.” You stated as you turned around and began to follow after the good doctor. You were stopped short though when you felt Roxy practically pull you back, hugging your back to her chest. You could tell you weren’t doing a good job at hiding your anxiety if she was pulling you into a hug before you go.

“Remember, he will be okay.” She said before she materialized your phone charger out of thin air. Sometimes her void powers were a fucking Godsend. You smiled as you took it when she handed it over. “Keep your phone charged. And anytime you feel like you are going to lose it before he wakes up, call me. I don’t care what time it is, Dirk. I will be here to keep you from the edge.” She then kissed your cheek before turning to leave, probably going to meet up with Jake to let him know how things were going.

“Thanks Roxy. I’m so lucky to have you as my friend.” She nodded before walking out the door and you chased after the doctor. When you finally caught up to the doctor, you started getting more and more worried the closer you got to Dave. You were afraid to see what he was like, afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle it. Which really was ridiculous, because you needed to, you loved him.

“We did opt to not put him in a full body cast. However, his ribs are taped and both arms and legs are in casts. We’ve also bandaged his head, he has quite a few scratches everywhere. When we release him, he will need intense care. He will also have scars across his whole chest and abdomen, most from the accident, but one from the surgery.” Doctor Lehne explains before opening the door for you.

Dave was sharing a room with John. A wave of relief washed over you as you noted this. You waved to Jane before walking over to Dave’s bed. Well, you guess that saved you the trouble of asking for a private room for him. You didn’t mind him sharing with John, just some random stranger was what would have bugged you. Sitting down next to Dave, you took his hand, his hand which felt way too cold compared to the warmth from yesterday afternoon. You were about to lose it again, though trying to keep your cool, you only brought his hand to your cheek, murmuring a soft ‘hey’ to him.

“You may both stay as long as you need. We’ll forgo the normal rules for visiting hours.” He said as he walked off. Oh, wait what? You remembered your phone vibrating earlier. You pulled it out, and saw a message from Jake.

_I may have bribed the hospital into ignoring visiting hours for you and Jane while you were having your attack before the cab got here._

Damn Jake for knowing just how to affect you in the best way possible. You smiled though, because at least now he could do it and you didn’t feel that flutter in your chest that you used to. You had Dave to thank for that you guessed. You kissed Dave’s hand softly, resting your cheek back on the back of it.

“How’s John?” You asked before too long. Jane had been crying, John didn’t look nearly as bad as Dave, but she couldn’t stop.

She sniffled before answering you. “He woke up for a little bit. He blames him---” She blinked having been cut off by her phone ringing. You knew that was her ringtone for Jade. You ignored her as she answered and talked to dog girl for a while.

Though you were kind of pulled out of your reverie. This time it was your phone and it was Roxy. “RoLal?”

“Put me on speaker.” Oh, this sounded urgent, so you did as she ordered. There was no way to sugar coat it. She was ordering you.

You waved Jane over before speaking again. “Okay, Roxy. What is so important that you needed to be on speaker?”

“I had Roxy hack into the security cameras around the accident scene.” Jake said.

“The driver who hit John and Dave, he ran a red light at a pretty fast speed. I’d venture to guess about eighty miles per hour minimum.”

“We think he might have been drunk. But from the looks of the video… Roxy said Dave is lucky that the doctors managed to save him.”

“Regardless of what Doctor Lehne said, Dirk, I wouldn’t get your hopes up of him waking up tonight, or anytime soon really. His body is definitely going to need more time to heal before his mind will let him wake up.” Your phone clatters to the ground, your eyes widening. Why were they telling you this? Was this not painful enough for you, he felt dead, why were they telling you that he pretty much was? “Dirk?! Dirk, listen to me and breathe! Dave will be okay, it will just be a bit of time! Please Dirk, the doctor said he will be okay. Breathe. Please...”

But you were already gone. Everything went black, you could barely make out the sounds of Jane and Roxy calling to you. Before you were too gone, you thought you heard Jake mutter something that sounded like ‘I knew this was a bad idea right now.’ Then just black emptiness.

**== >Dirk: Come to… for real this time.**

Sometime later, about an hour and a half according to Jane, you resurfaced from the dark abyss. You tried to ignore the sudden consciousness. Before you even opened your eyes, you could hear the mutters of your friends around you. Jake was talking to Jane, and from the proximity of the warmth, it seemed like your head was on Roxy’s lap. She was playing with your hair.

“What are you idiots doing in Dave and John’s hospital room instead of being at home sleeping?” You groaned as you opened your eyes slowly. You knew exactly what they were doing here. Jane must have panicked and told Roxy about you collapsing like that. Naturally Roxy was worried, it was never good when you collapsed.

“Dirky… I told you to breathe. Why didn’t you listen to me?” She sounded hurt, but you really couldn’t have cared less at the moment. It was her fault, she is the one who decided it was a good idea to tell you that Dave wasn’t waking up anytime soon. How could she expect you to breathe like that? How could she expect you to stay calm when your whole world was crashing around you?

“I didn’t want to listen to you or Jake anymore. Especially you, Roxy. How could you have possibly thought that was the thing to tell me? How could you possibly think telling me that right now my comatose brother was so close to death was a good idea? It was like what I told you meant absolutely nothing to you…” Your words were harsh as you finally pulled yourself up off the floor, away from your closest friend in the world. Away from the one person who probably knew the only way to help you in this moment. You started crying, really crying, not that holding it back shit you were known for.

“Strider, you need to calm down. You shouldn’t be mad at Roxy. She thought she was doing the right thing.” Jake tried to defend her, but you would have none of it.

“Can it, English! You have no idea what the right thing is, neither of you do! Telling me it was a drunk driver, that was cool, but telling me I almost fucking lost Dave forever. No. I’m not going back to being alone, I can’t do it…”

“You wouldn’t have been alone, Dirk. You have the three of us.” Jane tried to help, but she had no idea what she was getting herself into. John had already woken up for a little bit. He was definitely going to be okay, like fucking always! Maybe you needed to tell her. Maybe you needed to drive your friends away from you because you were garbage.

Roxy could tell what you were thinking, she knew from the look in your eyes. You were staring directly at Jake and Jane. “Dirk. Don’t!” She got up and grabbed your arm, pleading. She didn’t want you to end up alone anymore than you did. She wasn’t sure how they would react. They never knew what being alone was like.

You shake her off, staring at her. “No, Roxy. If these two are really my friends, they shouldn’t abandon me over something like this.” She was about to protest more on the matter, but you covered her mouth with your hand. English and Crocker were staring at you with bewildered expressions. “Do you have any idea why I had an anxiety attack outside of the bar?” You asked them, knowing full well they didn’t know the whole reason.

“Naturally because Dave was in an accident. If I was prone to attacks, I might have had one because of John.” You scoffed at Jane’s words. No, she would have known that John would be okay, she would have made sure of it. You didn’t even know if she would be able to with Dave. You didn’t remember if she had used her abilities on Dave before or not.

“Weren’t you afraid for Dave?” Oh God, it was obvious that it was because of the accident, dumbasses. Sighing, you shook your head.

“Dirk… don’t do this to yourself…” You ignored her, you weren’t going to repeat yourself. You already told Roxy, in your own way, that this was a test of their friendship. You were done hiding from who you were, from seeking acceptance from false friends. It was time they put up or shut up if they were your friends.

You held up a hand to Roxy, effectively telling her to zip it. She listened, she knew full well there was no way you were backing down at this point. “It was obviously the accident, idiots. However, notice how _I_ was the one contacted? Notice how I was the one that truly broke down? It’s because I’m a sick and twisted fucker! I fell in love with Dave, and surprisingly, he with me. That very fucking same afternoon, I had asked Dave to be my fucking boyfriend, and what happens? Now that he said yes, HE IS NEARLY FUCKING KILLED!” You yelled that last sentence. The tears started up again. Not only because of the fact that you have to deal with Dave in the hospital, but because there had been no sound from two people you trusted.

You back the fuck away from them, not even bothering to look at them. You don’t want the judgement. You don’t want that for Dave. You look over your shoulder, looking to Dave as he lay there, his breathing shallow, machines hooked up everywhere. He had a machine fucking breathing for him for God’s sake! You couldn’t do this anymore. You couldn’t be in the same room as Jake or Jane. Not when they were still saying jack shit about what you said, not when you were so fucking distraught over Dave needing help breathing.

You flash step past everyone, running like your life depended on it. You needed distance. You needed to think. You needed Dave to be okay and you were scared to fucking death that he wasn’t going to be. You heard someone chasing after you. You assumed Roxy from the clicking of heels on the tiles.

“Dirk! Wait up. You left so quickly… you missed something important…” You stopped yourself in your tracks.

Turning to look at her, you were skeptical. “Important?”

“Their reaction after they processed all the information. They don’t care. They want you happy. Jane even wants to offer to heal Dave so that you don’t have to worry. But she wants to offer it to your face, dumpass.” She was hunched over, trying to catch her breath even as she kept speaking. You were lucky you could understand her when she spoke breathlessly. Though you didn’t really expect her to follow you, having seen you flash step out of the room.

You effortlessly pick her up, causing her to gasp. Then, you flashed stepped back in the direction of your friends and Dave. Dave. The one who was so unafraid of judgement, he was willing to tell people about being with you. Yet you were so scared for his well being that you were afraid to tell of telling anyone, even your closest friends.

“Dirk! You came back!” He said as you set RoLal down.

“Dirk… can I try to heal Dave? I don’t know if I can… since I only know how to bring people back from the dead. But I want to try.” She couldn’t look at you, which put you on edge a bit. Crocker was a more believing person now, this was true. However, this was way outside her spectrum of understanding at this point.

You simply nodded to her, looking over to Dave before moving to his side. You wanted to be right there if this worked and there was a chance that he would wake up. You wanted to be the first thing he saw when he woke up. That was why you were refusing to leave before he woke up. You refused to risk him waking up while you were gone.

Your eyes watched as Jane hovered her hands over Dave’s chests, your hand squeezing his. You were muttering a quiet prayer that this would work. You were also hoping that this would be something that Jane could do more than once, mainly because you Striders were so damn unlucky.

Her hands began glowing a bright blue, cyan to be exact. She was holding into them on his chest, and about closed her eyes. “I’m not going to pretend that I can easily accept all this between you and Dave. However, I am your friend, whether you believe that or not. I will try to understand, but it will take time.” She smiled as she finished before she returned to concentrating on her work.

“Thank you, Crocker.” You said as you pressed Dave’s hand to your cheek, it was still cold, though not as much as last time. “Does it matter where your hands rest when you heal him?” Curiosity got the better of you.

“I have a theory that if this works, it’s faster from the heart. His heart wasn’t damaged, so it should push my magic through his body with each beat.”

“And if this works, healing is easier than resurrection.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Yes. Other life players can heal, the Sylph class too, so I believe I can as well. Healing is not a one time thing, I can do it as often as needed, provided I’m not just a failure as a maid of life. I know I can heal myself, but I have never had a reason to try to heal someone else. Before now.” She looked up and smiled at you.

You smiled in return before you looked back at Dave, a gasp leaving you. “Jane! His chest, he’s not breathing!” You panicked, gripping his hand tighter, biting your lip.

“Dirk. Calm down. He is. Listen to him, you are the Prince of Heart, can’t you hear his soul? Surely just because your class can destroy your aspect, that doesn’t mean you can’t hear it? That may be something heart players can do?” She offered.

You nod and close your eyes, trying to focus on listening to your aspect through Dave. It wasn’t too long until you could feel wet trails down your cheeks. Dave was calling out to you, he was scared and didn’t even know you were right there. He was afraid of death, he was afraid of losing you. He was afraid of you finding out everything he thought was repulsive about him, he was afraid that he would never see you again.

When you finally opened your eyes, not being able to bear any more of his souls crying out for you to not use him, you kissed his hand softly. You never wanted to use him, and the fact that his soul resonated with the pain of being used so much was killing you. It was then that you noticed something out of the corner of your eye. Turning to look, you saw Jane on the ground, smiling though looking completely drained. She must have had to use a lot of magic to heal him.

“I couldn’t heal him completely, that might have ended up using as much magic as resurrecting him, and I wasn’t chancing a one time deal. However, I healed him enough that he should be able to wake up soon. I think maybe another hour and you can talk to him again.” Damn did she look proud of herself. It was a wonder you hadn’t thought that she could do this in the first place.

**== >Dirk: Distract yourself.**

You have an hour to kill, maybe a little more? You weren’t sure, but you were so thankful to Jane. When she told you that you would get to talk to him again soon, you pulled her into a hug without even thinking beforehand. You buried your face in the crook of her neck and just hugged her until she pushed you off. She was beet red when you looked at her. You just smirked.

Roxy decided to take you out of the room for a bit, just long enough to get something to eat. You knew that it meant she wanted to talk without Jane and Jake around. That was the only reason you were leaving Dave’s side. She took you to the diner close to the hospital, knowing you didn’t want to be away too long.

“What is it, RoLal?” You finally inquired, taking a bite from your burger.

“That was really stupid of you, Dirk. Were you trying to push them away?” She asked after taking a sip from her strawberry shake.

“Yes and no. I just needed to know that they were really my friends, that they would truly accept me for the fucked up person I am. I told Dave I wasn’t going to make him hide our relationship, but I was willing to so that I didn’t lose my friends. Yet, seeing Dave like that and seeing them comforting me without me being honest… I just couldn’t handle it, not with all the emotions in me at that moment.” You conveyed the thought process of the moment.

“So you were willing to lose them for Dave?”

“As if that was a real possibility.”

You heard her laugh and you started laughing too. “I suppose you are right, DiStri. I was just afraid though. I didn’t want you to lose them, because they are so close to the both of us. They were our first friends besides each other.”

“Actually Calliope was. But she was how we met them.” You corrected. 

She bit her lip and sipped at her shake again. You knew that she didn’t like talking about Calliope since Calli went off to travel the world. When you guys figured out how to bring Calliope back to life, you brought her back to Earth. She was from a dead Earth, so she went traveling.

“Aha… about Calli… she messaged me today. She should be back in town tomorrow… well today.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. “So are you going to try to pick things back up with her?”

“I think so… but I’m nervous she doesn’t feel the same about me anymore.” She confides in you.

You rolled your eyes behind your shades. “You were the only one she told she was coming back. You are not stupid, Roxy. You are one of the brightest girls I know, even you know that’s a sign that she wanted you specifically to know she was coming back rather than surprise us all.” You pointed out.

She nodded before changing the subject. “Oh, I made sure your jeep got back to your house. I know you don’t really trust Jake’s driving when it comes to your jeep.”

You nodded before you finished your meal. “We should be getting back soon. Jane said maybe an hour. I don’t want to get there as soon as he wakes up, I want to be there already.” You smiled a little before you stood up and reached out so she could take your hand. When she does, you help her up and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry for snapping at you before, Rox. You are my best gal, but what you told me scared me shitless.”

“I wasn’t mad, Dirk. I should have thought before I spoke, I guess I was still a bit buzzed.” She said into your shoulder, hugging you back tightly. You could feel her burying her face in your neck, and you just pet her hair. She wasn’t being completely honest, you could tell just by how she was acting. She was really hurt by you yelling at her, you never did that, she was the one person you never snapped at. Except that one time in trickster mode…

“I love you, Roxy. I couldn’t ask for a better and more understanding friend. I promise I will do my damnedest to never hurt you again.”

She nodded into your neck before finally pulling away and pulling you up to the counter to pay. Once dinner was paid for, you and her walked back to the hospital, hand in hand. Sometimes you felt bad for letting her hold your hand, but she was your best friend, and it wasn’t exactly like you could be mistaken for her boyfriend, right?

When you got back to the hospital room, you practically flew back to your seat next to Dave like the dutiful prince you were. “I’m back Dave. Please… come back to me soon…” You cooed at him, hoping he could hear you. You then leaned over, and pressed a small kiss to his lips. After pulling away, you rested your head on the bed next to him, letting your eyes close as you held his hand. “I miss you…”

After an hour, you woke with a start, bolting up right. You thought someone was trying to pull you away from Dave. However, what you saw was so much better. Dave was finally starting to stir, and you had tears in your eyes again. “Dave…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that it might be interesting if Heart players could hear their aspect. I wanted to find a way to help Dirk, if even a little.


	7. Never Close Our Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dave Strider [Knight of Time God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Never Close Our Eyes - Adam Lambert](https://youtu.be/u3dkVk3F57c)

**== >Dave: Open your eyes.**

You struggled, the darkness was so heavy, it felt like it was crushing you. You didn't know how long you'd been bogged down, it felt like an eternity. Why was it now that you had truly lost track of time in every sense of the word. What did time even mean? It was nothing. You had none left. The darkness was your indicator of this obvious fact. You were never going to see them again, never going to see _him_ again. You were dying and you were only worried about how _he_ would be affected by it.

It never even crossed your mind that you could come back, that you could resurrect because of your god tier status. You heard whispers, though they were far too distant to make out. You tried to open your mouth, to call out to _him_. Would he even be there? You sure hoped so, you wanted to pull yourself from the depths of darkness. If only to see him once before you died.

You could feel that you were breathing, but you knew it wasn’t without help. You knew you were fighting a losing battle right now. You must have been in the hospital, that was the only way this seemed to make sense that you weren’t already gone. You were sure you were going to die the second the other car crashed into your side of John’s [2015 Ford Mustang Ecoboost Fastback](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ABWMNsB0_SQ/maxresdefault.jpg). You should have been dead on impact, so why weren’t you? Why were you here, fighting this battle?

You could feel a pressure on your hand, it was warm, almost burning against your freezing skin. You relished that feeling, you knew who it was. It was the one person you wanted to wake up for. It was _him_ , it was _Dirk._

Doing everything you could, you remembered why you were fighting so fucking hard. It was so Dirk wouldn’t hurt anymore, so he could keep smiling like he had been the last time you saw him. When he dropped you off at John's place. His smile was the most beautiful thing in the world to you, and you would do anything to see it one more time.

You wished that the darkness embracing you would lighten, at least let you feel air more comfortably. You weren’t going to let it win, not now. You tried to push against the darkness, to make it so you could squeeze Dirk’s hand. To no avail.

You were screaming internally, you just wanted to fucking open your eyes, you wanted to see. God damn it. You wanted to tell Dirk you were okay. You knew he was worried, you wanted to let him know that you were still here. You weren’t leaving him anytime soon. Not willingly at least. It was actually getting frustr--- AH! Fuck!!!

What the fuck?! Why the hell was there a burning sensation in your chest? It felt like your lungs were on fucking fire, like there was no air going into them whatsoever. What was happening, you felt fine a moment ago, you were just thinking of seeing him again. Now it felt like you were dying all over again. You wanted to writhe, you wanted to scream but you fucking couldn’t! Was this the seventh level of Hell, were you already dead and it was just now getting to the worst part?!?

You couldn’t be sure, but there was something you were sure about. There was an unfamiliar, yet oddly familiar at the same time, presence there. Not next to you, but actually within you. You didn’t know who it was, but your heart did. It was calling out to the presence, and you couldn’t control it. It took a little time, but you realized who it was.

Dirk.

He must have been using his god tier powers. He was calling to your heart. And you were calling back with everything you were too afraid to say. You were telling him everything you hated about yourself, that you thought he would learn to hate. You were telling him everything that Gamzee had ever done to you. You were telling him about all the scars he was so nice enough to never ask about even though you saw the worry. You were telling him about how you were afraid to die, about how you were afraid to leave him.

You were telling him about how the reason you were scared of him was that you were afraid John was right about him using you. You were telling him about how you never thought that you would ever be so lucky to have him in your life. You were telling him about how you had loved him since the moment you met. You were telling him about how scared you were to sleep with him. You were telling him about how you never wanted to hurt him. You were telling him about how much you loved him and that you would fight to be with him again. You told him about how you were trying to tell John about the two of you when the accident happened. You were just telling him that you were afraid.

But his presence abruptly left you, and you were mentally trying to pull him back. No… Dirk come back…

You were alone again. Alone with the pain. Alone with the black. Alone with the weight of the darkness crushing you.

And then you realized, the pressure was disappearing. You could breath again. Stronger this time. You could measure time again. What the hell?

**== >Dave: Open your goddamn eyes already!**

It had been two hours since you could breathe again, since you could tell time again. You were so exhausted from all the struggling though, you slept a little. Not much, not that you ever slept much anyway. When you finally opened your eyes though, you moved your head to look at Dirk, asleep with his head on your chest, your hand in his. He was there, he was with you and you couldn’t have been happier. You were so happy in fact that you were actually crying, a smile on your lips. you moved around a little, trying to use your free hand to brush his hair.

You moved too much though apparently, because he was bolted upright in a moment, his eyes alert. He was looking like he thought he was being dragged away, and your hand dropped. “Dave…?” He asked hesitantly, like he didn’t believe you were awake.

“Hey…” You croaked and holy fucking Christmas, you didn’t even recognize the sound of your own voice. You squeezed his hand, smiling a little.

And just like that, you saw something you never thought you would. Dirk burst into tears and he leaned over and immediately claimed your lips with his own, his hands cupping your cheeks. You easily leaned into the kiss, this was just natural for you. You let out a low whine when he pulled away. “It worked… she did it. Jane healed you. Well enough that you wouldn’t be comatose anymore.” And before you could even respond, he was pressing the buzzer to call a nurse in.

“Dirk… I’m so sorry. John and I were going to the store to pick up something for Jane’s dad… I don’t know what happened, I should have died. That other driver hit me dead on. But I’m so fucking happy that you are here. I was fighting to see you again, even through the searing pain…” You were cut off by a nurse gasping when she saw you awake. Clearly you weren’t supposed to be awake yet, though you figured that out already. She went off running to get the doctor, and Dirk was stroking your cheek.

“It’s okay, Dave, because you are okay. I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you. I love you so fucking much, and I missed you.” He said as he leaned his head on your shoulder. He wasn’t used to feeling so weak, but then again, you weren’t used to actually being so weak. You also weren’t used to feeling like you should have listened to your instincts and made John wait a little longer before going out. The accident was your fault, you could have prevented this pain for Dirk.

Just as you were about to answer Dirk, the doctor came in, his eyes widening in surprise. He cleared his throat as he quickly regained his composure. Life magic would have been an asset to the medical community anyday, clearly. “Hello David. Welcome back. My name is Doctor Nicolae Lehne. I’m the one who called your brother and was in charge of your surgery.” You already didn’t like him. No one called you David.

“It’s Dave, and thanks for saving my life. I can’t leave this numbskull alone, he depends on me.” You smirked before laughing a little, an action you quickly regretted. You winced, okay, broken ribs are a thing now. Cool to know.

Doctor Lehne nodded before walking over to check on John, who seemed to be waking up again. Doctor Lehne gave him the same spiel, though obviously replacing David with Jonathan. Though he said ‘Dave’s brother’ rather than ‘your sister’. He didn’t call anyone but Dirk? When the ‘good’ doctor left the room, you looked at Dirk. “I missed you, too.”

“I depend on you?” He quirked an eyebrow.

“Yep.”

“More than you know. But now you get to depend on me for the next few months.” He grinned. You groaned in response.

“Dave? You’re awake?” Egderp sounded pleasantly surprised. You looked to Dirk with a look that conveyed your desire for the curtain to be moved. Dirk immediately obliged and you looked over to see John looking at you. When John saw you though, his smile dropped. “Wow Dave, you look like shit. I’m so sorry. I never thought this would happen to us…” He looked a bit crestfallen. You were his best friend and there was almost no part of you that didn’t have a cast or bandaging of some sort.

“It’s not your fault, John. The guy ran a red light. You can’t control that.” Jane tried to console him. It must have really been tearing him up that you were in this condition.

“No… he’s my best friend, and if it wasn’t for you, he would still be in a coma. I should have just told Dad that I’d get his stuff after Dave went home.” John cried out, his voice pained.

“John, look, it’s cool. We’re both alive. We’re both okay. Mostly. I’m just glad you weren’t too seriously hurt.” You said honestly. You wouldn’t want your best friend in the same condition as you.

Dirk looked like he had something to add, but he was instantly cut off by the parade of people coming to see you and John.

**== >Dave: Notice the parade.**

You already had, but you were actually looking at everyone in the parade now. Well fuck if you weren’t surprised by some of the faces. Rose, Jade, Roxy, and Jake were to be expected. Then there was an alien girl you had never even met before but she was holding Roxy’s hand and smiling brightly. You looked to Dirk quizzically, who whispered that was Roxy’s girlfriend Calliope, before proceeding on with the parade of people. Following after the strange alien girl, Calliope you guess, was… OH MY FUCKING GOD! Karkat decided to grace you with his presence, with Terezi and Kanaya following after him. You were thankful that the juggalo troll didn’t come, though it was disheartening that Aradia and Sollux didn’t come by.

You blinked for a moment when you saw the last person trailing behind. You assumed that she was here for John, but you had wished that Vriska just stayed away. She was toxic as fuck and you didn’t like that John and her were a thing now. You thought John had gotten over her, apparently not though. You rolled your eyes when she looked over at you and smiled, waving lightly. She tried to be friendly with you, for John’s sake. You didn’t try to be friendly with her though, you would have rather Terezi didn’t have John bring her back.

Kanaya seemed to gravitate over to Rose as soon as she saw your sister, your eyes landing immediately on Karkat. “Karkat, I can’t believe you came to see me. I’m swooning already!” You sneered and Dirk was chuckling next to you, he knew how much you missed your bro. Karkat just walked, well stomped, over to you, a light smile on his lips. Terezi followed him. Were they a thing now?

“Wow Dave, you look like utter shit. This is what I get for leaving you to fend for yourself though, I suppose.”

“Oh come on Karkat, how is he supposed to look after being in an accident in one of those human death traps?” Terezi said, rolling her eyes at the angry little troll, who was actually kind of chill now.

“TZ, how is my best gal pal? Been a while.” You may not have liked that Gamzee was her kismesis, but that didn’t stop you from being her friend. “Where’s the Mayor?”

“Been okay, dumped Gamz’s sorry ass. Karkat’s my moirail, surprise surprise. The Mayor will be here shortly. He’s fascinated with everything lately, this is his first time in a human hospital.” She said, moving over to the other side of you bed and taking your hand. She was smiling, she was clearly glad that you were okay.

“Hey, so I would have totally killed that guy for crashing into you guys, but he was kind of dead on impact. Such a shame, I would have made him suffer slowly for hurting my matesprit and his moirail.” Vriska said, making it loud enough that you would hear it as she held John’s hand. You cringed, you wouldn’t have wished that on anyone, guess the guy got lucky this time. Sorta?

You nodded in her direction before you saw the Mayor pop in, a grin spreading across your lips. “Mayor!” You exclaimed loudly and then instantly regretted it. Fuck broken ribs being a thing right now.

Dirk rolled his eyes. “You need to relax, lil man.” Also fuck Dirk for making your skin crawl with a small amount of pleasure at the way he said ‘lil man’. Karkat and Terezi noticed your reaction. Karkat leaning over to whisper in your ear.

“So you and he are a thing?” You blushed a little and nodded to his question. “Can’t say I saw that one. I figured you and Jade or maybe even you and Jane because of the whole anti-incest thing you humans have going on.” He whispered again.

“So you were just able to walk in here, horns and grey skin and everything and no one stopped you? Or the skeleton like girl?” You changed the subject quickly. He shrugged.

“We’ve been in this world for three years, Dave. I think people are used to our bizarre appearance by now.” Kanaya retorted, clearly having heard you.

“Right. Makes sense…”

“I still get strange looks from time to time though.” Calliope allows.

“Because you are so beautiful, Calli. Roxy retorted.

You rolled your eyes and then scooted over, patting the bed next to you so Dirk could sit with you. “You sure?” He whispered but moved anyway.

“I’m not ashamed of you, if that’s what you mean.” And then you rested your head on his chest. The Mayor moved to sit in Dirk’s now empty chair, much to Karkat’s chagrin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the by, the reason he hadn't died was that he had turned back time for he and John alone. Not enough for Jake and Roxy to notice, but enough that the impact wasn't directly into them. He did it unconsciously. I'm only saying this because I'm definitely one hundred percent sure that I will never actually find a way to include this explanation in the actual story. :( Since it was done subconsciously, I don't think that Dave will ever explain it himself. Also obviously, John panicked and used his breath magic, but he won't be admitting that anytime soon, because everyone will assume it and not even bother asking.


	8. Innocence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Dave Strider [Knight of Time God Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Innocence - Avril Lavigne](https://youtu.be/PRmc-5CnjzQ)
> 
> Many thanks to my girlfriend for beta reading, check end notes if you are interested in also beta reading.

**== >Dave: Fast forward.**

It has been two weeks since you were in your accident. John was released a week and a half ago, however the doctors were constantly worried that you would slip back into a coma. If anything you just started complaining more and more about wanting to go home. Which really, did they really expect any different from a Strider? Especially you. This wasn’t your first trip to the hospital, just the first one where you actually almost died. Dirk was there everyday, but after you waking up, they started making him follow the visiting hour rules. They didn’t take too kindly to the both of you sharing your hospital bed.

“Dirk, when do I get to go home?” You asked for the fifteenth time today alone. You could tell he was starting to get annoyed, but you hated hospitals.

“Never if you don’t fucking stop asking. I told you that you can only ask once a day.” He snapped, then his face fell and he looked away. “Sorry. I want you home too… believe me. But I don’t want to risk it before they are sure you are ready. I wouldn’t know what to do if you collapsed on me…” He said, his voice soft as he held your hand. You couldn’t say you didn’t expect him to snap, it was inevitable. You just wanted to go home with him so badly.

“Hey, look at me. It’s okay. I love you, Dirk.” You said smiling.

He smiled back. “I love you, too, Dave.”

You tried to pull yourself up so that you could sit. Dirk, rolling his eyes, moved to press the button that would make your bed ease into a sitting position. After John was released, Dirk had you moved to a private room. He didn’t like the idea of you sharing a room with a stranger. You didn’t like the idea either. Doctor Lehne was skeptical about your move though. Dirk was a very persuasive mother fucker though. You cringed. You don’t actually know what Dirk did to get the good doctor to agree.

“How are you feeling?” He asked suddenly.

“Antsy and a little lonely in this bed.” You said as you scooted over. Dirk frowned, he had already gotten a scolding from the doctor on multiple occasions. Yet whenever you scooted over, he couldn’t help himself but to crawl in beside you. Everytime he would end up falling asleep next to you. He didn’t seem to be sleeping properly.

You sighed and Dirk looked up at you in a confused manner. “You okay?” He sounded worried.

Nodding, you waited for him to wrap an arm around you, thinking about something of less importance to distract yourself for a moment. You didn’t like dwelling on the fact that you were the one being held, you preferred holding him. When he pulled you closer, and away from your distraction, you rested your head on his shoulder and let your eyes slowly fall shut. “I’m going to be so dependent on you… you’re going to get sick of me, Dirk. We both know Striders don’t depend on people…” You finally voiced your worries before sighing again.

“If this relationship is going to work, we are going to need to depend on each other from time to time.” He said as he started playing with your hair. You didn’t even try to disguise the hum that erupted from you, you enjoyed the feeling too much. You never realized how nice it was for someone to play with your hair until the first time Dirk did it. You smiled as you started to drift off.

As you buried yourself in Dirk’s arms, you tried to fight off the sleep that was trying to overcome you. You wanted to ball your fists in his shirt, alas the cursed casts made that impossible, so instead you just hummed a little, smiling to yourself. You scooted even closer when you felt Dirk’s hand petting your hair, snuggling into him happily. You frown, your eyes still closed, as you felt Dirk stiffen around you.

“What?”

He just coughed, causing you to reluctantly open your eyes. Blinking, you frown even more before you pull away from him a little. The good doctor was there, a look of annoyance on his face. Dirk just smiled politely before pulling himself from the hospital bed. “How many times will I have to tell you Mister Strider, the bed is only for patients?”

“Dave sleeps better with someone he can hold onto. Since I’m here all the time, I fit the bill.” He said as you nodded along helplessly. It was true, but you were a little upset he didn’t mention any more than that. You understood though. You didn’t want the doctor to stop letting him visit.

“Well, lucky for you, he has been progressing nicely. Nicely enough actually, that we are discharging him this evening. He hasn’t relapsed so we believe it should be safe for him to go home. I’m going to prescribe some pain killers. If something happens though, I want you to bring him right back here.” He said before your eyes widened. Dirk’s were mimicking the action behind his shades.

“Really?!” You asked, trying to conceal your excitement. The only part you heard was that you were going home tonight. He nodded, clearly having noted this, and then left the room, presumably to start on the paperwork or something.

**== >Dave: Rejoice.**

You sure as fuck were rejoicing, looking up at Dirk, smiling when he seemed to read your mind. You kissed him more than happily, letting out a content sound as he stroked your hair, you were smiling like a little kid. You were going home, they were positive you weren’t going to slip back into a coma. You could lay in your own, much more comfortable bed. The only downside was that you would not be able to do jack shit on your own for a few months. Even bathing, which you weren’t sure if you were against that or not. You guessed you will have to see how that goes.

You knew that it would be six weeks until you got the casts off. However, they had told you when John left that when they took of the casts, you weren’t allowed any heavy lifting. You weren’t allowed to do anything that would possibly re-injure you. In fact, Dirk made it clear that you weren’t going into a vehicle for a while without him.

You knew it was because he was worried. Yet, it did seem a little overbearing to you. You shrugged and said it was fine, because honestly, you were a little skeptical about cars. This wasn’t the first time you came close to death, and you always had an aversion to the main cause for a little bit.

Dirk had called the club you worked at, well really you pretty much owned it behind the scenes. Anyway, he called to let them know you would not be able to work for a while due to the accident. You were sure that the manager you had in place was reluctant to accept this, most of the patrons came just to hear your mixes. She obviously had to deal with it though, there was no way you could mix with your whole body broken. Even so, Jenny, that was the name of the girl you hired to run the place, still called Dirk every few hours to talk to you.

“Fuck Jen. I don’t know who you are supposed to get on such short notice.” You groaned, this last call was a couple hours before you were supposed to go on tonight.

“Can I ask Dirk to, Dave? I mean I know you get to go home tonight, but maybe I could borrow him for a little bit?” She was pleading. Jenny was a cute girl, that was why you hired her. She was active in the club, most of the managers you hired before her were only seen with guests when there was a problem. She actually watched for the problems and nipped them in the bud. That’s why she had lasted the last few years rather than weeks.

“I’ll ask him. Hold on a second.” You tell her and then pull the phone away from your ear. You also covered the receiver, though you knew she was probably too busy to listen while you talked to Dirk. “Dirk. I need a favor.”

“Yeah?” You could tell he already knew what you were about to ask.

“Play my new mix at the club tonight?” You asked smoothly.

“And who is going to stay with you while I mix for you?”

“Rose. She _IS_ my sister, it is the least she can do.”

“Let me call Rose and ask her first. Tell Jen you will call her back with my answer.” You knew he was going to do it, it was just a matter of finding someone to be at your beck and call.

“Jen.”

“Yessir?” She snapped to attention, clearly she was waiting for her name while taking care of whatever else she was doing at the moment.

“I’m going to need to call you back. Dirk needs to set up a caretaker for me if he is going to play my new mix.”

“Of course, Dave. I’ll be eagerly waiting to hear back.” Click. Well that was abrupt. Just as well, you supposed as you handed Dirk his cell. That was another reason you liked her, she was to the point, she didn’t waste time like most people did.

Dirk immediately began dialing Rose’s number. Putting the phone on speaker, he rested it against your leg. It rang twice before you heard her voice, out of breath. Well then, what were you up to Rose? You were snickering a bit in the background as Dirk rolled his eyes.

“I require your services this evening.” He said curtly.

“Depending on what you need, I may be able to help.” She responded, her breathing starting to normalize.

Dirk sighed as he looked at you pleadingly. You could see he really didn’t want to ask her, mainly because he wanted to stay with you. You shook your head, you needed him to go to the club tonight, no matter how much you both wanted to spend time together. Just then, Doctor Lehne came in with a clipboard and pen, offering it to Dirk. Finally he came back with the discharge papers.

As Dirk took the clipboard and pen, you spoke to Rose. “Rose, I need Dirk to go to the club for me tonight, for obvious reasons. As you know, I’m being discharged tonight, so I was hoping you could be the one to stay with me and help me out while he worked for me.” You were nicer than Dirk, because you needed this to go down.

“Yeah, I don’t see why I wouldn't be able to. About what time, Dave.” She answered and you could hear the smile. Well then. That wasn't the answer you expected with how she answered the phone.

You answered with a smile of your own on your lips. You only smiled when talking to Rose or Dirk lately. The Mayor too, though you didn’t see him often. “Well he has to be there at about nine thirty so he can set up to start at ten, so if you could meet us at about eight thirty.” The time at the end was more of a question. Unlike Dirk, you tried not to impose on Rose too much, especially when Kanaya was in town from New York.

“Eight thirty should be fine. I hope you don’t mind Kanaya joining us.” You were pretty sure that she already knew that you wouldn’t mind. You were thankful that she said something though, you didn’t like awkwardly offering. Which is what would happen.

Just as you were about to answer, you blink, hearing a new voice on the other end. Well, not new, but not Rose’s either. “I do not have to come over if it will be too much of a bother, Dave.” You felt a pang of regret, even though you never planned on saying no in the first place. It was like she preemptively was trying to keep you from saying no.

“No, no Kanaya, I was actually going to offer that Rose bring you before she even said anything. You’re fine, don’t worry. The more the merrier, yo.” And somehow you managed to keep your cool enough that you are pretty sure you didn’t sound like you were backed into a corner. Just then, Dirk’s phone was yanked from it’s perch on your chest, a gloved hand swiping it quickly.

You looked over to Dirk inquisitively. He merely started talking to Kanaya as he handed the clipboard back to the good doctor. “We’re leaving the hospital shortly, now that I’m done signing everything for Dave to be discharged. As soon as I get his prescriptions, we are stopping by the pharmacy. If you guys want to head to the house now, we can meet you and all hang out before I leave for the club.” You could tell by the tone in his voice, he was thankful to have you going home. He was also thankful for the fact that he didn’t have to leave you with less than savoury people, like, in his people, Terezi.

**== >Dave: Call Jen back.**

You had Dirk call Jen’s number for you and put the phone on speaker once you were situated properly in the car. The phone only rang once before you heard the sound of her voice on the other end. “Dave or Dirk?”

“Dave. Dirk will be coming tonight. He’ll be there between nine and nine thirty.” You looked at the clock on the dashboard, it was about five in the evening. It was a ten minute drive from the hospital to the house, but you guys had to go do other shit too. It would take Rose and Kanaya about thirty minutes to get to the house and Rose knew where the spare key was in case you guys weren’t home yet.

“Would it be too much trouble if I asked for him to come a little sooner. The other DJ for tonight has to leave a little early.”

“How early?” Oh, he sounded mildly irritated. You frowned over at him.

“Dirk, don’t be intimidating to her. Jen is just doing her job, which she does very well. That’s why she still works for me.” You scolded him, and he rose an eyebrow at you when you were stopped at the light.

“Th-thank you Dave. It means a lot to hear you say that.” You could hear her blushing. The thoughts of your little tryst shortly after you hired her came to mind, though you quickly pushed them away. You heard her cough before she continued on. “As for how early Dirk, only an hour.”

Dirk sighed. You could tell he really didn’t want to leave earlier. But you needed this, you never asked him for anything. He assured you that it would be okay to lean on him, to depend on him. “I’ll be there.” He finally said, after listening to Jen fret in her usual manner whenever Dirk teased her.

“Jen, you really need to learn when Dirk is picking on you. He was going to come either way, because I asked.” You said as you glared over at Dirk. You’ve told him multiple times to not pick on Jen, she was one of your best workers. “Anyway, we’re gonna go. Need to pick up my meds and some shit for Rose and Kanaya to take care of me. Treat my brother good tonight, kay Jen?”

“Of course, Dave. I hope you get better soon. If anything so you can come by every once in a while. One last thing, am I to let Dirk use your DJ booth or make sure one is set up for him before he gets here?” You heard the blush in her tone. She had a thing for Dirk, which was kind of her fault. Most people knew Dirk was gay. However, Whenever Jen first started working there, there would be times you would catch Dirk and her together. He was an idiot, drunk off his ass and putting the moves on your new manager.

“I’ll be using Dave’s setup. We both use the same equipment so it will be easier that way.”

“Yeah, just let him use mine.” You agree. He had a point, it was easier. Plus there was no way she would have been able to setup to his standards with so little time.

“Understood. See you tonight Dirk. And get better soon, Dave.” Click.

You looked over to Dirk for a moment before you closed your eyes. “Are you trying to scare her away?”

“No. She just still likes you. And I don’t like it.” He said abruptly. This made you open your eyes. Of course you knew she still liked you. You just didn’t think Dirk would care enough now that you were with him.

“Stop the car.” You didn’t even care that you were almost to the store. You wanted him to stop.

He sighed before he pulled the car over. Parking on the side of the road, he turned to look at you. “What’s wrong?” He sounded worried.

You motioned your head for him to come over, and when he did, you tried to shift closer. Sighing, you rolled your eyes. “A little help here? I can’t kiss you if I can’t reach you.” He seemed more than willing to oblige. He leaned over and closed the gap between you both, his lips pressing against yours.

When you finally parted from the kiss, you smiled up at him. “Don’t worry about Jen, okay? I’m with you now. You know Striders are faithful to their partners.”

He simply nodded and then turned to start the car again. When he started driving again, he smiled. “I love you, Dave.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a streak of every two days updating. Then work happened, which put a damper on inspiration. Wouldn’t be an issue if I wasn't getting such great hours that are making me pretty close to full time.
> 
> BTW, I'm looking for people willing to beta read for me. Not only for the remainder of this story but for future stories as well. If you are interested, message me on my tumblr: [dstridesandkarkles](http://dstridesandkarkles.tumblr.com/ask)  
> [The link to my tumblr will take you right to my ask box. Please be sure to not be anonymous on tumblr, so I can private message you back.]


	9. Remember the Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Rose Lalonde [Seer of Light God Tier]
> 
> (OMG SOMEONE OTHER THAN DAVE OR DIRK, WHAT?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Remember the Name - Fort Minor](https://youtu.be/boxuhaTqOcw)

**== >Dave: Be Rose.**

What an absurd notion. You were pretty sure you weren’t nor ever have been Dave. You were Rose, as you always have been. And you were in the car with your beloved troll girlfriend, Kanaya Maryam, on your way to your brother’s place.

**== >Rose: Plot with Kanaya.**

Well, you were already sure you were going to do something, you just weren’t sure if Kanaya would be up to it. She still had some trouble with human humor, so pranking with her wasn’t especially easy. Though, you had to admit, it was funny when you pranked her from time to time. Not that she really appreciated it. Actually, the first time you pranked her, she almost left you, until you explained that it was all in good fun.

“Rose, are you okay, you’ve been awfully quiet. And surprisingly cooperative in letting me drive the car today.” Kanaya had her eyes on the road as she spoke, which you were proud of. You were pretty sure that she didn’t need to actually watch the road at all times, but it still made you nervous, especially after Dave and John had just been in an accident. Plus you didn’t want anything to happen to your brand new Mercedes that Dave and Dirk got you for your birthday. Obnoxious rich brothers spoiling you.

“I’m fine, just thinking.”

You could hear the sigh from Kanaya. She probably didn’t believe you, then again, you were always thinking. It was kind of your job as the Seer of Light. “Thinking about what?”

“I want to prank my brothers. However, every prank I think of has a very desirable outcome. I’m trying to decide which has the most desirable one.” You say as you look at her. Frowning, you laid your head back and closed your eyes.

“Might I suggest you do them all then? I’ll admit, I’m not sure how favorable the outcome will be from my perspective, however, I’m willing to help you.”

Your eyes snapped open as you heard those words. “Really?” Surprise colored your tone, your head turning towards Kanaya.

You noticed her nod as she slowed to a stop at the light. This made you smile, as you leaned over and kissed her cheek. “And this is why you are the best. The best is you.” You stuck out your tongue as you mocked John’s way of trying to woo Dave.

You smiled even more when Kanaya giggled. “So what’s the plan, Rose?” Her enthused tone ended up making you smirk a little as you thought for a moment, you wanted this to be perfect.

“Well, most of these will end up aimed at Dirk, since he can actually move. Some might get Dave though. I was thinking, since Dirk hasn’t really done anything but sleep and stay with Dave, we could rig the shower to spray Kool-Aid on him when he gets ready. Also, we should add baby oil to his shampoo and conditioner, you know how he is about his hair. Lastly, to Dirk at least, baby powder in his hair dryer. For Dave, we both know he’s probably not slept for some time out of worry about slipping back in the coma. So maybe we should think of something for after we let him rest.” You become lost in thought. You may have been a little too excited for this. You weren’t exactly happy with Dirk’s grumpiness about all this.

“Should we stop by the store real quick? They might not be too happy if we use their things to prank them.”

“Good thinking.

“You may also need to help me a little with pulling these off. I’ve never actually pulled a human prank. Troll pranks aren’t exactly as humorous as human pranks. Generally more… I suppose maiming would be a good word for it.”

You grimaced at that. The last thing you guys needed to do was hurt either of them. “I got you covered babe.” You smiled at her.

**== >Rose: Arrive at the house.**

Kanaya parked the mercedes in your brothers’ driveway, you were grinning like a fool. You were holding the shopping bag filled with blue Kool-Aid, a small bottle of baby powder, a small bottle of baby oil, Oreos, a tube of toothpaste, and a bottle of hot pink nail polish. You had some great ideas for pranks on Dave while you were in Wal-Mart. You may have also run into Jane and asked her what would be good to do to prank Dave since he was injured.

“I’m going to message Dirk and see how long we have, you get started scraping the icing from the Oreos and replacing it with toothpaste.” You said, giggling. Kanaya just smiled and nodded. It had been a while since you two did something fun at your friends’ expense.

\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --  
  
TT: I should preface this conversation by stating that I still hate that our chumhandles are abbreviated the same.  
TT: Noted.  
TT: What can I do ya for, Rose?  
TT: I would like to know how long you and Dave shall be out.  
TT: Why?  
TT: Because I would like to spend time with both my brothers before you leave to go to the club.  
TT: Also because I was thinking of taking Kanaya out to get a quick bite if you guys were going to take some time.  
TT: That first reason was pretty cornball for you. That was Egbert level or English level cornball. Not sure I believe it, Rose.  
TT: Also we were just going to pick up Dave’s scripts, but now he is bitching that he is hungry. So we are going to grab a bite.  
TT: Noted. I guess Kanaya and I will too. By the way, I think she wants my Mercedes you guys got me.  
TT: Dave is asking if you actually let her drive it. Which, I’m curious about too.  
TT: Yes. I may need to get her a jade one so she doesn’t try to take mine and repaint it from the beautiful purple you got for it.  
TT: Or you know we could buy it and you could still say it’s from you.  
TT: Mr. Strider. Are you insinuating that I am a gold digger?  
TT: I’m deeply offended if so.  
TT: That was so stupid, I actually rolled my eyes. Congratulations.  
TT: No, I’m not saying that. I’m offering as your older brother to help you get a gift for your troll.  
TT: I will think about it.  
TT: Or don’t… because we kind of already bought it.  
TT: Excuse me?!  
TT: We never got her a gift for making it in the fashion world of New York…  
TT: So you got her a car?  
TT: You do realize she is the only one of our friends who Dave and I hadn’t gotten a car for, right? We do like to make you guys smile, and also, we aren’t exactly the best with gift shopping so we Oprah’d this bitch.  
TT: Dave read the Oprah thing and started saying “You get a car, you get a car, and you get a car.” Please end my life now.  
TT: You like it, Dirk. And I am glad you are both happy by the way.  
TT: I want it on record that I hate when you use your seer powers.  
TT: But thanks. Gotta go now. Dave’s whining about dying from hunger.  
TT: See you soon, Dirk.  
  
\-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --

You took a peek at Kanaya’s work. She was almost done with removing the icing. Striding over to her, you grabbed the toothpaste from the shopping bag, and smirked. The smirk only further stretched into a grin when your phone rang. It was John’s ringtone.

Picking up the phone, you put it on speaker and set it down so you could work on filling the cookies. “Hello, John. How goes the healing process?” Jane had mentioned some minor instances of trying to get John to let her heal him. He refused since Dave was going to have to heal naturally.

“I’m not going to let you distract me with small talk, Rose. Jane told me you were going to prank the Striders!”

“We are. We are working on one prank at the moment. So you are on speaker.” Kanaya interjected, amusement in her tone.

“Hey, Kanaya. You guys have to tell me what you guys are doing! I’m so proud right now.”

You chuckled. “I would hope so. These pranks are on your behalf after all. Though we could never match the talent of the pranking master.”

“I shall make you both my apprentices. Now tell me your prank ideas!” His excitement was far too apparent. It was actually kind of cute. 

“Well, right now we are replacing the icing of Oreos with toothpaste. This prank is for Dave.”

“We are also going to rig the shower with blue Kool-Aid, homage to you John.” Kanaya added in.

“We are also going to add baby oil to Dirk’s shampoo and conditioner. Which won’t actually hurt his hair, just make it kind of slick. We all know how much he cares about his hair.”

“More than life itself.” John agrees.

“You are asking to get pranked back, Rose. I’ve done the baby oil prank before. When I visited his planet in the game. He’s actually a pretty good prankster, surprisingly.” Jane interrupted. Guess John had you guys on speaker as well.

“We’re asking for something, I’m sure. Blue Kool-Aid shower, baby oil hair care products, and baby powder in the hair dryer.” You laughed.

“Going all out then, you better watch your back for messing with his hair care products and hair dryer.” Her tone was overflowing with amusement.

“My personal favorite of the pranks is the one I get to do on my own.” Kanaya piped up, to change the subject away from Dirk’s revenge.

“What’s that, Kanaya?” Curiosity clearly evident in John’s voice.

“I’m going to paint Dave’s nails hot pink while he’s asleep.” She stated triumphantly.

Then the four of you erupted into laughter. You were sure Jane and John would want full details on the evening, provided you both lived through it. When you finally calmed down, you began putting the oreos back together with the toothpaste. You then placed them on a plate, carrying it over to the coffee table.

“Oh crap, guys, we have to go. Dad is throwing a raging fit. Tell us everything tomorrow! Good luck!”

“Don’t let Dirk kill you guys! See ya!” Click.

“Didn’t even let us say goodbye. Oh well.” You hand Kanaya the Kool-Aid packet and explain to her how to take apart and put back together the shower head. You grabbed the nail polish and slipped it in your purse before grabbing the oil and powder.

Guiding Kanaya to the bathroom, you grabbed the shampoo and conditioner before letting Kanaya get busy with the shower head. You unscrewed the lid of the shampoo bottle first, putting about 6 drops of baby oil in it and shaking it since it was pretty full. This prank would last some time, this was perfect. You repeated the process with the conditioner.

Slipping the baby oil in your purse, you giggled, Kanaya seemed to be having a little more trouble than you expected. “You okay there, babe?”

“Just peachy. I wonder if Dirk was worried this would be a thing John would do, I can’t get the damn thing open.” She sighed. She kept muscling through it though.

You laughed a little more. “Just don’t break it or dent it. Might give us…” Pop. Oh, she got it. “Nevermind. Good job, Kanaya.” You said as you reached for Dirk’s shelf and grabbed his hair dryer. Taking it apart, you dumped a good amount of the baby powder into hair dryer. Putting it back together, you placed it back perfectly into it’s previous spot. The perfect crime.

After finishing her task, Kanaya reached out for the hair products. You instructed her to make sure they were in the exact spot where you took them from. She managed, which was surprising since she wasn’t paying attention. Damn this was going to be great. You hid the remainder of the powder in your purse as well, shoving the shopping bag in there too.

**== >Rose: Skip ahead.**

Everything had gone according to plan so far. Dirk and Dave came home to you and Kanaya eating Chinese food. You had enough time to run out and grab food to make the story you said before more believable. You guys had watched My Little Pony and some pointless animes together until Dirk had to get ready. During MLP, Dirk would not shut up about how amazing Rainbow Dash was.

Dave didn’t take too kindly to the toothpaste Oreos. Dirk was even less receptive, you hadn’t even known that he liked Oreos, then again, you never asked.

“You guys are fucked up. You do not mess with Oreos for any reason.” Dave was whining, until you all heard a screech from the bathroom. Kanaya had informed you that they had something like what turns toilet water blue in their shower head. You don’t even know how they managed that. But it made the Kool-Aid prank easier to pull off. Dirk stormed out of the bathroom in just a towel, his face white as a ghost. His hair seemed slicker, and he was tinted blue.

You and Kanaya nearly died laughing.

“THIS is not FUCKING FUNNY!” He was yelling, but he seemed to get even more annoyed when Dave started laughing too.

“Oh my fucking God. This is great. Babe, you are blue, English would be tickled pink!” Dave managed between laughs. Which obviously gave you the best idea. You took out your phone and snapped a quick picture. Sending it as a mass message to everyone. Everyone being Jane, John, Roxy, Jade, and Jake.

“Babe? You two are an item?” You blinked. You forgot to tell her about Dave and Dirk.

The Striders both froze, before you shrugged. “It wasn’t my place to tell her, even if she is my girlfriend.” You explained.

“Yeah, the morning of the accident, we became an item.” Dave said lovingly.

“I thought humans disapproved of incestuous relationships.”

“I was the only male in my time period on Earth. Roxy was the only female. We didn’t exactly grow up with that idea, or any idea about relationships and family really.” Dirk explained.

“And I guess all my time with you trolls changed my way of thinking.” You could tell that Dave would have shrugged if it didn’t hurt too much to move.

Just then, your phone went off, it was Jake. Oh, well it was a surprise he was calling. Picking up the phone, you put him on speaker. “Yes, Jake?”

“Why is Dirk blue, with white powder on his face?”

“Because Rose and Kanaya got me in a series of pranks.” His tone was irritated.

“Oh my, I didn’t realize I was on speaker. Well, Dirk, I think you look rather ravishing in blue.” He said, and you could hear the blush in his voice. You rolled your eyes and you could tell that Dave wasn’t all too pleased to have heard that.

“Jake! Stop flirting with Dirk. I’m sure he has better things to do than listen to you whine because you miss him.” Jade could be heard in the background.

You saw Dirk and Dave stiffen though. “Woops! Have to go. Talk to you later, Jake.” Click. You looked over to Dave for a moment.

“She was joking right? Why the hell would he miss me? He’s the one that left me for what’s her fuck.” Dirk said before walking over to Dave. “Besides, he knows I’m with Dave.” He smiled and kissed Dave’s lips, causing a small hum to leave your brother.

“Might I suggest that you get dressed, so as to not be late.” Kanaya offered.

Dirk hesitated. “You didn’t fuck with my clothes, did you?”

“Nope. We only pulled pranks that wouldn’t have lasting effects.” You assured him. He nodded before heading to his room. When he was gone, you scooted closer to Dave and leaned over. “We can talk about it after he leaves.” You whispered, and he surprised you by nodding.

“The mix is on my flash drive in my laptop. It should be long enough to last all night.” Dave called after Dirk.

“Got it.” He called back before exiting, tank top in hand and he moved to Dave’s room.

“So are you keeping your room, or moving into his?” You inquired.

“Probably keeping my room, for at least when the gang comes over. And while I have the casts on. Dirk said he doesn’t want to be hit by a cast in the night, or risk hurting me. Otherwise, we are most likely sharing his bed.” He explained.

“Definitely sharing my bed. It’s bigger and a lot nicer than the one you have. This the right one?” Dirk said, out of nowhere.

“Yep.”

“Alright, I’m out then. See you three at five.” Dirk muttered reluctantly.

“Be safe babe. I love you.”

“Love ya, too, lil man.” He said through a smirk. You and Kanaya made gagging sounds before laughing.

When the door was closed, and you heard Dirk’s jeep start up, you turned to Dave. “Why did you freeze at Jade’s words?” You questioned.

“He always goes back to Jake the second he hears that Jake misses him.” He admitted.

“I’m sure that will not be an issue this time, Dave. He appears perfectly content in being with you.” Kanaya said from Dave’s other side. Normally she would have tried a consoling touch, but she was more worried about not accidentally hurting Dave.

You roll your eyes at your brother. “David. I am surprised. How can you not see how completely in love with you he is?”

“Because it’s Jake. He has never been able to say no to Jake except when it came to painting himself blue and dressing up like Neytiri. That’s where his line is drawn apparently.” Dave sighed out.

“You’re an idiot, Dave.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I do not have them written, but I have up to chapter 18 already outlined. There will be more than that, but this is what I've got outlined lol.
> 
> Also, I felt the need to switch to Rose's POV because, while I'm not great with her character, I felt the story needed more POVs than just Dirk and Dave. I'm planning a chapter in Jade's point of view, eventually. Dunno when.


	10. Dollhouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Point of View: Jade Harley [Witch of Space Dog Tier]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dollhouse - Melanie Martinez](https://youtu.be/VmTYdvfi-yE)

**== >Jade: Go to the club.**

Clubbing wasn’t something you did often, but you needed to babysit Jake. Well, not really, but you knew he was going to do something stupid if he went to Dave’s club while Dirk was working. Ever since Jake came back from the hospital the day after Dave and John’s accident, he had been acting weird. The weird you easily began recognizing as him wanting Dirk back. You weren’t sure you could handle that drama anymore, and you were positive that Dave and Dirk both couldn’t, for differing reasons.

Anyway, you were sitting grumpily in the passengers seat of Jake’s [Buick Century](http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/3/1193/4061/27982030001_large.jpg). You preferred your car, a [gorgeous green camaro](https://youngmanmaster.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/synergygreencamaro-1.jpg) that Dave got you for your birthday. You were pretty sure that Dirk got Jake this car because he was still upset about Jake cheating on him. Not that you could really say you blamed the poor guy. Jake loved this car though. You liked to drive fast, with the wind blowing through your hair.

“Remind me how I let you convince me to let you watch Dirk play tonight?” You whined at your brother. You really were curious, because you were absolutely sure that you had no intention of letting him anywhere near Dirk anytime soon. At least he could leave the poor guy alone until Dave was healed up? Haha nope. Not the way Jake English rolled apparently.

“I told you that you could come along with me to make sure I don’t do anything you wouldn’t approve of.” He offered in response, and you rolled your eyes. Your ears drooped a bit as you became lost in thought. You weren’t even sure that it was okay to be letting Jake anywhere near Dirk right now. Rose had text you telling you about what Dave had said, which still upset you in the first place.

“Did you know that Dave and Dirk were a thing now?” You asked absentmindedly as you stared out the window. You couldn’t stop thinking about it since Rose brought it up. You didn’t believe her, and the first thing you did was call her, since you knew she was with Dave. He had confirmed it, and you actually ended up crying when you got off the phone. Even after all this time, you still loved Dave, and you didn’t really like most of the people that he ended up dating after you. You were conflicted this time, because you liked Dirk, but they were brothers. You wanted to support Dave, but you didn’t think you could.

“Yes. Dirk told Jane and I while Dave was still in his coma. He was having a moment and doubting our friendship, so he tested us with this information. I think we passed, though I don’t accept it. I guess I want him happy though…” He sighed and you looked over at him, your brow raised.

“You want to be the one to make him happy?” You inquired.

“Honestly? Yes.” He admits.

“No offense, Jake, but I don’t think he will let you back in that way. You hurt him pretty bad when you slept with Jane. You are lucky he is even still your friend.” You say bluntly. Rolling your head back, you looked out the window again. You and Jake actually lived a few hours from the rest of your friends. At least it wasn’t in the middle of the Pacific Ocean like it used to be.

Jake groaned as he slowed the car on the side of the road. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been so darned grumpy since that call to Rose. And don’t think I didn’t hear you crying before we left.” Damn it Jake. He always picked the worst times to actually be perceptive of things.

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?! You are wanting to get back with Dirk even though you are the reason he never smiles anymore. You KNEW that Dirk was with Dave and you still are going to this club to try to get in his pants! You knew that I was still in love with Dave and just casually ignored the fact that maybe I would have wanted to know he was dating his BROTHER!” You growled, your ears folding back on top of your red beanie. You never snapped, not really at least. Not since all the terrible things you did when you were grimbark, but you were tired of Jake’s stupidity and you having to make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself like always when it came to Dirk.

Blinking Jake jumped back a little and you turned to look out the window, though you closed your eyes. You guessed that he figured he might as well just quit while he was ahead. Which he wasn’t, but he could think that if he wanted. You just wanted to get to the club so you could get this night over with. “If we keep driving, we will miss Dirk. Just let me teleport the car to the club. We can drive home.” You frowned. This wasn’t going to be a wasted trip if you had anything to say about it. There was no way you were going to have let Jake talk you into leaving the house and not go to the place he made you go to.

“I suppose I can deal with it this time.” He allowed. Without a moment’s hesitation, you were teleporting the car, Jake and yourself to the club. It was an easy feat, though it still seemed to amaze Jake every now and again about how you never had to really think about it when you port.

When you appeared in front of the club, you noticed how Jake let out a shaky breath, causing you to laugh a little. Wow, it still felt good to laugh even though you were pissed. You still weren’t sure if you wanted to go inside, but you needed to watch Jake. “I’m never going to get used to that, even though GCat used to do it to me from time to time.” Jake managed to laugh, breaking you from your thoughts.

“Well, if we used it more often whenever you decided to take forever getting ready, you’d get used to it. Seriously, you are more like a girl than I am.” You rolled your eyes.

“You are also half dog now.” He retorted.

“Just hurry up and get into the club.” You snorted before opening your door.

**== >Jade: Ditch Jake.**

You had since lost interest in the club scene. You also weren’t even able to keep track of that damned brother of yours. If he tried to hit on the older Strider, you honestly hoped that he was not let down easy. This trip seemed pointless to you already. Last thing you needed was to just keep hanging around, sitting at the bar. Honestly, you were glaring daggers at Dirk, and he probably noticed, because you saw him take out his phone.

\-- timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] --  
  
TT: I’m guessing I did something to earn the Harley scorn.  
GG: what would make you think that? :o  
TT: Don’t get cute with me. Not when you are glaring daggers at me.  
TT: It is distracting, and could possibly turn me.  
GG: dirk, im sure nothing could turn you.  
GG: especially with the ever amazing dave on your arm.  
GG: oh wait where is he anyway?  
GG: i dont see him anywhere, only a horny brother of mine looking to try to get a piece of that ass.  
TT: Woah now, Harley. What the hell is up your ass?  
TT: This is definitely not the sweet and lovable Jade I have come to know and love.  
GG: im having a bad day okay???  
GG: >:O  
TT: Chill girl. Do I need to put on a random song and come over there?  
TT: Maybe you just need a hug and an ear scratch.  
GG: as nice as that sounds, no.  
GG: just tell jake that im going home so he will be driving alone tonight.  
  
\-- gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering timaeusTestified [TT] --

You hadn’t even realized you were crying until you brushed your hand against your cheek. Your cheeks felt warm, and when you went to find out why, you were greeted with moisture. Getting up from your barstool, you quickly make your way out of the club. That last thing you needed was for Dirk to actually try coming over to you. You were sure that you would not have been able to pull yourself back, you barely managed to be civil through text. Dirk was the embodiment of your pain right now. You had no idea what you were supposed to do to get over it.

Once you were safely outside, you took in a sharp intake of the cold night air. It was only ten thirty. Jake was going to be gone all night, knowing that he was wanting to stay until Dirk was off. It felt like it was a lot later, how had you managed to get so tired of Jake so quickly? Because he was wanting the person you didn’t want to even look at right now.

“Harley?” You heard the familiar voice and jumped. Even with your heightened senses, you didn’t hear him come out of the club.

“Dirk. I said I didn’t want a hug. Or an ear scratch.”

“That made me worry about you more. Come on, you are my friend too.” He said as he leaned on the wall next to you. He was at least being nice enough to not touch you. That was good, one less thing to make you worry that you were going to lose it completely.

“Shouldn’t you be inside?” You offered, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to make another appearance.

“I have it set to play a club song playlist while I’m with you. What’s wrong, you ran out so fast.” God damn you, Dirk. With the sound of his genuine concern for you, the floodgates broke. You shook your head as you looked at him through tears.

“I’m supposed to be your friend, and I can’t even stand looking at you right now. How am I supposed to be okay when I can’t even be around someone I care about?”

This seemed to take him by surprise. His whole body stiffened as you cried, as you said you couldn’t stand to be around him. “I’m sorry. This is about Dave, isn’t it?”

You helplessly nod. You hated that you still had feelings for Dave, but the recent breakup with Karkat didn’t help matters. Karkat left you without really explaining why, and he was the only thing that made life easier. He helped you forget that Dave left you to keep him from hurting you beyond repair. He said when he was a better person for you, and you clung to that. Now you weren’t sure what to do with yourself.

“This was never supposed to hurt you. In fact, even as selfish as I am, I didn’t want Dave to pick me over someone else he cared about. I won’t say that I’m not glad that he picked me. I can’t lie to you like that, Jade. However, this decision was completely his, my mind was made up long ago.” Dirk said before he pushed himself off the wall. He started to walk towards the door back into the club.

“I’m sorry… I wish I didn’t feel this way about you. I hope it goes away soon…” You whispered as he walked through the door. Without another moment’s hesitation, you teleported yourself to your house. More accurately, into your room. Throwing yourself onto the bed, you curled up into a whimpering ball, crying and clutching your chest. You wanted the pain to stop. The pain of admitting that you couldn’t be around your friend. The pain of losing the one thing you trusted to keep you going when you smiled at Dave.

It took you an hour to calm down. When you finally did, you pulled out your phone.

\-- gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --  
  
GG: i need to talk to dave.  
  
\-- gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

It was another five minutes before Rose was calling.

“Hey…”

You were expecting Rose, not a tired sounding Dave. “Rose said you needed to talk to me. She called and handed me the phone.”

“I didn’t mean to bother you, if you were sleeping!” You said quickly, sitting up.

“Nah, I wasn’t sleeping. Besides, I always have time for you, Jade.” He sounded like he was semi-smiling.

“You sound so tired though! You should be resting!” Your ears folded back on your head. You always felt bad bothering him when he was tired.

“Just tired of Rose and Kanaya.” He snorted.

You couldn’t help but to giggle too. You knew how tiresome the two of them could be together. “I just wanted you to hear this from me, rather than Dirk.”

“Alright, shoot.” He said, though he sounded a little hesitant.

“I may have snapped at Dirk. I told him I couldn’t stand to look at him right now.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s with you.” You admitted.

“Oh…” He sounded so disheartened, it broke your heart.

“It’s not because I don’t approve, I swear Dave. It’s…”

“It’s because you still love me.” He finished.

“Yeah. I don’t have a distraction to make it so I can move on. You have moved on though.” You sighed.

“I still love you, too, Jade. I’m just no good for you. I don’t think I ever will be.” He stated.

That was your breaking point. You were crying again, your ears flat on the top of your head. “I don’t understand why you think it is up to you to decide whether you are good enough for me or not! You see yourself so negatively, it’s like you just push everything that could make you better, in your eyes, away from you. You are the best, everything about you is amazing. You make everyone around you so happy, why do you think so many people were so worried about you when the accident happened? It wasn’t just John we were worried about. You need to learn to love yourself more, Dave. Especially if you want this to work between you and Dirk.” All you knew was that Dave was unhappy and you were probably making it worse by saying that you still loved him. However, you needed him to know why you couldn’t talk to Dirk right now.

“Jade… no please… don’t cry. Jade… I’m so fucking sorry…” He was pleading, he hated when you cried. You knew he was probably blaming himself, like every other time you cried.

**== >Jade: Visit Dave.**

This is probably the worst idea you have had since the night at the club last almost two weeks ago. You haven’t talked to Dave at all since that night. It was weird for you, just a bit. You broke down, and it took two hours of Dave and you talking about everything going on in your head to make you calm down. Since then, you were too embarrassed to even talk to him. Jane called you on a few occassions. You knew it was so that she could tell you to call Dirk’s phone.

It wasn’t exactly like you weren’t willing to call Dirk’s phone to talk to Dave. Okay, that was a lie, you didn’t want to risk talking to Dirk before you were ready. He seemed to be understanding of this, he was giving you your space. You just wished that Dave would get a new phone soon.

Anyway, you were standing outside Dave’s apartment. Dirk was at work, and you were pretty sure that Dave was still going to be asleep. You were debating grabbing the spare apartment key from it’s hiding space. You still thought it was stupid of Dirk to make a loose panel by the door, especially because he had the penthouse suite and was the only apartment on this floor. However, it at least was nice to know that he kept an extra key… for when he or Dave locked themselves out? That didn’t seem likely.

Whatever, you were spending too much time thinking about this. If you thought any longer, you would talk yourself out of it. Moving the panel just enough to swipe the key, you unlocked the door and opened it, walking out. You hated that you had promised to never port into the house, this was much less convenient for you. Yet, a promise was a promise and if you broke your word, you were sure something was wrong with you.

Sneaking over to Dave’s room, you cracked the door open, and peeked inside. You yelped a little though, because when the door opened, you noticed Dave’s head turn, his eyes wide open.

“Oh thank fuck! Someone is here.” He sighed, his eyes looking pained. When you opened the door and stepped in, his eyes widened a bit. “Jade?”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out, cool kid.” You said, a nervous laugh escaping your lips.

“Er… well as good as it is to see you… could you help me?”

“With?”

“I really hate to say this, but I need help getting to the bathroom.” He said, looking away.

“Oh… uh sure I’ll help.” Was all you could manage even though you were blushing fervently. You were trying your damnedest to not stutter.

“I mean… you don’t have to. Because I’m going to need help… with everything.” He sounded like now he was blushing, which was weird. He never even really blushed when the two of you dated.

“I can’t leave you alone like that until Dirk gets back… I mean, you just need to pee, right?” You asked, maybe too quickly. This wasn’t exactly a comfortable topic for you at the moment.

“Yeah… but I wanted to bathe too… I feel gross, not that the feeling is going away easily with these casts.” Oh… oh! He needed help bathing… which meant he would be naked. You would be cleaning his naked body. This made you shiver. You weren’t sure you would be able to handle this.

“No. It’s cool. I will totally help you, Dave. Less for Dirk to do when he gets home from work… right?” You said, a smile hinting at your lips.

He turned to look at you, eying you suspiciously. “Kay, thanks Harley.” Fuck. He called you Harley when he didn’t trust your intentions.

“No problem, Dave.” You said as you moved over to his bed to help him up and out of bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually decided to change how chapter 10 went, because I decided I didn't want to write a whole chapter about Dirk playing music and instead wanted some Jade time.


End file.
